The Worlds Finest: The Legend Begins
by AliusNeo
Summary: The tale of a confused young man from Krypton, who upon learning of his true heritage ran away from home. His journeys led him across all of the American continents, but now he has come to Gotham, seeking a place for himself on a world that isn't his. Pt1
1. A Dark Night in Gotham

Disclaimer- Dc Comics owns all of the characters in this story, which is a different interpretation of how the Dark Knight and The Man of Steel first meet. I take no credit for imagining up the two characters, only for this unique first encounter between the two.

This Story is an intro piece to my own interpretation of the DCU, and I chose to focus on the first meeting of Superman and Batman. Though it's more of a young Clark Kent meets a Bruce Wayne who is very early on in his career and is still getting into his own groove of things in Gotham. In this story you get to see 'Kal' as he embarks on his quest in Gotham in search of the Batman, who he thinks can help him control his abilities.

I am aware of the spelling and grammar errors that are throughout the story; I do plan on going back and reworking the whole story now that Part 1 is complete.

And Please leave a review if you like what you've read. A little encouragement never hurt :p. And I do enjoy reading them. Plus if you have any ideas as to something you think might be coming, just ask and I'll drop some clues. I have the whole story plotted out, writing is just the hard part. And please be constructive if you're going to give criticism; nothing is worse than an idiot ranting when they haven't even read the story.

...

**"Carry on My Wayward Son. There will be Peace Once you are done."**

...

Darkness covers the streets of Gotham; it is much like any other night. The streets are littered with the forgotten outcasts of a society who seldom casts them any notice; the outcasts divide themselves into two groups of people, the kind who feed from the scraps of the rich and corrupt will will toss them, and those who live off the garbage of the poor.

Though there has been hope in the last two years of Gotham's long and disastrous life. A single man, draped in darkness has been taking down the criminal fraternity from the inside out. The Batman. He is what has the people filled with hope; he is what keeps the people safe at night, and Gotham has begun to enter into a new age of prosperity under the Dark Knights watchful eye; now that he is no more a myth, now that he has entered into the Light from the Darkness.

There are many who still fear this creature of the night, but there is one among those outcasts of society, of the dregs of this emerging utopia, who seeks him out.

S

He had been in Gotham for weeks, seeking out The Batman, but to no avail. Now he lay outside of a broken down safe-house, it had been put up by Thomas Wayne; one of Gothams wealthiest businessmen, who had tried for years to stop the steady decline of Gothams elite to sleazy business practices inspired by Corporate Giant Lionel Luthor, who had dealings with some reputably bad people.

The building had once had the words 'Wayne House' engraved on the front above the door, but these words had long since faded, and the windows were boarded up; it no longer held the warmth it must have once emanated.

The man lay on a bench with his head rested against a small pillow. He was trying to force the images from his past out of his mind. _A gun fires, the bullet explodes from the barrel; he can see the face of the man shooting him, his best friend. He can feel the metal hit his skin and bounce of him like a peanut._ The image is engraved into his mind, he cannot force it out. _The bullet bounces off of him, but it doesn't stop._ He could have stopped it, if he had known it would happen he could have stopped it. _He can still hear the sound of the bullet tearing through flesh and imbedding itself in her spine._ _He can **hear** it._

He sits up, the image still etching itself deeper into his mind. _She falls to the ground with a whelp that he hears as if she had screamed it. He looks to Lex, who is bewildered that his friend is still standing. He grabs Lex by the collar and throws him into the wall and he falls over, out like a light._

He shakes his head and brings himself back to the moment. He is sitting underneath a rundown homeless shelter in the rain. He took out his fathers pocket watch. Midnight; a great time for him to continue searching for The Batman. Maybe there's a chance he will be able to help. They call him the World Greatest Detective, that's got to count for something.

He stands up; _he hears her cry out "kal..." He can hear her shortness of breath._ "Snap out of it!" He shakes his head again. He reaches up to the silver chain around his neck and grasps the crystal that dangles off of it in his fingers, running his index finger through the inscription upon it. He remembers back to when he received the crystal, and when he learned the truth…he was not the son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, he wasn't even human.

Tears run down his cheek as he remembers when his adopted parents showed him the ship they found him in, and when it opened up to reveal an image of a man clad in white, who bore the symbol on his chest. He stopped himself before he thought about the words the man spoke…he didn't want to think about it.

"Pull yourself together Kent." He thought to himself as he shakes his head again. He grabs a hold of a nearby post and grips it firmly. Gotham was a dangerous place, even for him, and he had to stay sharp.

He looked down to the post he had grabbed a hold of, he had crushed it. As he released his grip the top part of the post bent over at its weakened point where he had gripped it, and the sign snapped in two under its own weight.

He looked down at the broken post…his mind raced back to when he was arguing with his Father about the ship.

_"I don't care what that thing said to you…you're my son! You're Clark Kent!" Jonathan grabbed a hold of both of his shoulders, but he didn't want to be touched. "Let go!" He screamed, giving his father a gentle push. Jonathan flew across the kitchen table and into the china cabinet. Jonathan fell to the floor as fine china shattered all around him. The cabinets legs buckled and it began to topple over onto of Jonathan._

"No! Stay focused!" He said to himself out loud, so that he could hear it. It had been nearly six months since he had left Miami, since he had a friend in the world to talk to. But no one he knew could comprehend what he was going through. So his hope fell to a stranger who dresses up like a bat.

He had to stop dwelling in the past. Clark Kent was dead. He was Kal now. And he had a job to do.

He burst into super speed and began moving through the streets of Gotham. He had learned back in Star City that if he wore anything but black he would leave a blur of color behind him, so he had adopted wearing a black leather jacket. He sped by Wayne Tower and stopped at the base of one of the neighboring Penthouse towers that were also owned by Bruce Wayne. Kal pushed himself down and then lept with enough force to jump a top of the building. Kal soared at incredible speed up the side of the building and passed his mark. He fell back down to the rooftop and landed with a loud thud. Newspaper said Wayne was still in Berlin, so Kal came to this rooftop often to scope out the city.

A strange feeling burrowed it way through Kal as he looked out into Gotham…somewhere out there The Batman was hunting, and all of Kal's efforts to find him had failed so far; every lead went dry at some point. Even with his super senses finding the Batman was not an easy task.

Kal utilized his hearing and tried to sort out all of the voices. He could hear a couple laughing as they enjoyed each others company. His mind momentarily flashed back to Lana at her farm, then quickly to the point where he had thrown her boyfriend Whitney into a car, then quickly back to where he was.

He was on the rooftop for only a minute before he heard a cry for help; a woman screaming for someone to save her. He ran down the side of the building and began to run as fast as he could to where she was. He burst around a corner into a dark alley and there they were; two men were robbing a young lady, one grabbed at her purse while the other one was moving around the two, ready to strike.

Kal rushed in grabbing the one who was standing there and tossed him twenty feet into a nearby garbage bin. The woman stopped screaming and released her purse, the other robber also released it and it fell to the ground. Kal was hidden in the shadows and quickly sped by the second robber and tossed his right into the bin with his friend.

Kal moved out of the shadows seeing that the woman was still stricken with fear. He knelt over, picking up her purse. He then offered it to her and said, "I believe this is yours." He let a wide smile brim across his face, the woman seemed to relax and reached out for her purse. "Thank you." She took the purse and swung it around her shoulder, then started to dig through her purse. "Doesn't look like they took anything... So do you think I," but as she looked up to thank her rescuer again, her was gone.

Kal was half way to an abandoned warehouse where he could hear gunfire by the time the girl had looked up from her purse. As he raced towards the gunfire he heard the sound of car wheels screech, followed shortly by a loud crash and a scream. Kal blocked the sounds from his mind, he had to find The Batman, and no matter how much Kal tried to pretend like there was nothing he could have done, he felt horrible inside for not even trying…

S

Hanging off of a buildings emergency escape hatch not far away from the woman who had been attacked by thieves, a man draped in a black cape examines the photograph he had just taken on his cameras monitor. He had arrived on the scene just moments before the rescuer shower up, and before he could react to the thieves, a man sped in unseen and took out both of the robbers with the swat of his hands. He examined the mans face; bright blue eyes, really bright. He had long jet black hair, some scruff on his face, but with a smile that calmed the fearful. He had found something here, and he wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with.

Batman quickly made his way back to the Batmobile, which he had hidden in a warehouse several blocks form where he was doing his patrol. He set the car to autopilot as he uploaded the pictures to the cars computer. He pulled up the picture of the mans face and ran it against the Gotham police archives. Batman took manual control of the car while the computer did its search.

After several moments the computer made a noise indicating that its search had finished. Batman reengaged autopilot only to find that there was no record of him in Gotham. Batman shrugged as he would now have to wait until he returned to the cave to research the stranger further. Batman left the car on autopilot and pulled up his files on The Joker, who had recently escaped from Arkham.

The Batmobile roared into the cave, up in Wayne manor there was a loud ring that echoed through the dining room out of the butlers wrist watch to alert him of his masters' return. He put down his duster and made his way to the kitchen and removed a small bat shaped piece of metal from the top drawer, and then he headed down to the wine cellar. He pulled on a dusty looking bottle of chardonnay on a wine rack and a loud click was heard. The wine rack moved aside to reveal a large plated cellar door. Where the keyhole should have been was instead an engraving of a bat.

Alfred took the small metal bat and inserted it into the engraving. The door made a few noises before opening up to reveal a large cylindrical tube. Alfred made a large gulping noise and said quietly to himself, "I hate doing this." He stepped into the tube and began to slide downward very fast. Alfred began to feel sick as he reached higher and higher speeds. Suddenly Alfred felt a large burst of air come up form beneath him and his decent began to slow and he fell softly onto a large blue pad.

Alfred pulled himself up and began to fix up his shirt. "That's it," he said aloud, "I'm not coming back down until the elevator is repaired" Alfred got ready to march off but then stopped himself, he ran towards a small cupboard near where a large pad was placed and pulled out a serving tray, a tea pot and glasses, an electrical water kettle and biscuits. He filled the water kettle placed it on the tray with everything else and made his way along the long narrow stone corridor in the dark tunnel.

Alfred did not understand how Bruce could keep himself locked away down here for days on end. But then again there was a lot Alfred had trouble understanding about Bruce, but it was not his job to understand, although he tried, but to guide him through his endeavors and keep him safe. He was the last of Wayne family, the last of everything Alfred had worked so hard to help maintain.

Alfred quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts as he approached the platform where the Batmobile was parked. He moved passed it to the platform where Bruce sat at his computer with his hood on, leaning forward with his face buried in a computer screen, not acknowledging Alfred as he walked up behind him.

"Good evening Master Bruce." Alfred said as he plugged the water kettle into the outlet. "How many sugars would you like in your tea?" Bruce didn't speak; he just sat there transfixed by his computer screen. "Master Bruce?" Bruce turned around slowly, removing his cowl as he did. He had a very serious look on his face, and his eyes had the look as if he was deep in thought. "Tell me Alfred," he said, "Do you believe in aliens?" Alfred laughed to himself, imagining the pictures he had seen on the television of green men with odd shaped heads and little bodies . "What? Do you mean little green men?" Alfred said still chuckling, but Bruce sat there, stone faced. "No." he said as he turned around and turned on the large computer screen with a picture of a man with piercing blue eyes, and right next to it what looked like a blur tossing aside a person. Beneath those pictures was a missing persons report of a young boy who looked strikingly similar to the man with long jet black hair, and beside that a newspaper clipping of a recorded meteor shower around the time of the boys birth. "I mean a missing farm boy from Kansas."


	2. Never Ending

Lightening littered the sky in Metropolis. People ran from the streets to get to shelter from the falling rain. Dogs barked at the lightening, then were silenced by thunder. Watching from high above in Luthor Tower, Lex Luthor sat in his chair with his hands clasped lightly against his chin; as a king would sit on his throne. He watched through a large window as the people scurry about beneath him; they looked like ants from where he sat.

His mind was filled with the things he had learned since he took control of his fathers company... _May he rest in peace_; Luthor thought, as he turned around his chair and took a sip from the glass of brandy on his desk. Through out his entire rise to power there remained only one loose string that he hadn't taken care of. Lex opened his top drawer and removed the lid to a hidden compartment and pulled out a picture of him, a short blonde girl he had met from Kansas, Chloe, and a tall man with long jet black hair and bright blue eyes…Kal. They were all so happy on that day, he thought back to the day when Kal and Chloe marched into his old home in Miami and ruined everything.

Suddenly a tall man in a black suit and black sunglasses came walking into the room, disturbing Lex's thoughts. He put the picture in the drawer and closed it shut; he would have to put it back in the compartment later. Lex rose out of his desk to acknowledge the man. "This had better be good Mercer. I don't like people coming into my office unannounced." There was a short pause where the man in the suit stood shaken. Sweat began to show visibly where his dark brown hair had begun to grey around his ears. "Mr. Luthor Sir. I have reports from Project 33.1, and I didn't think you'd want to take the chance on anyone listening in. It was your father's protocol." Lex walked around his desk and began to walk casually towards Mr. Mercer. Clearly after six months he still hadn't learned. "Tell me something Hank… I can call you Hank, right? Good." Mercer seemed insulted that Lex didn't wait for him to answer. "Did you know that a dogs scent is so powerful that he can tell how far away their owner is just by a scent on the wind?" Mercer began to look angry, catching the obvious reference.

_Good; _Lex thought before he continued. "And when they change owners, they become accustom to the smell of their new master…" Lex took a long pause, giving Mercer a devilish grin. "And if the dog can't accustom itself to the smell of his new master, then the new master should either give him back, or take it out back. And since your old master is already dead, I'd suggest you not push your luck."

Mercer stared at Luthor ruthlessly through his glasses. Lex thought it was strange that he would ware glasses inside; obviously it was to cover the foul looks he threw at Lex from behind them. "Yes sir." Mercer said loudly before becoming dead silent. Lex walked back around to his chair and sat back down. "Now," he said as he took another sip of his brandy. "What do you have to report?"

Mercer handed Lex a portfolio that he had brought in with him. Lex opened it and found schematics on the phase shifter he had been developing with Dr. Franken. The schematics had incorporated the upgrades Lex had thought up. "So everything is ready to begin?" Lex closed the folder and placed his hand atop of it as he spoke. "Everything already has sir, they're setting up the core for the machine, so if there are any last minute changes you'd like to make to the calculations," "My calculations are fine." Lex cut in. "Tell them to begin building the machine. I want it ready by the end of month." Lex turned around in his chair and began looking over the city again. As he did another streak of lightening lit up the sky.

Mercer turned around and began to leave, but before he got the door he heard Lex shout out, "And give my regards to Tess. Tell her I've always got a position available for her." Mercer stopped at the door, his face was red and he could feel the anger boiling. Though he thought he'd never see the day, he actually missed working for Lionel Luthor. He opened the door and left without retort to Lex; who sat grinning in his chair, watching the people still running about.

S

In Gotham City Kal still races about, from one end of the City to the other in a desperate hope that will find who he's looking for. He roughs up criminal after criminal, breaking up gang fights and petty thefts and questioning the criminals, trying to find anyone who might have the slightest clue as to where to find the Batman. The most helpful thing anyone every told him was "You don't find him. He finds you." Kal was becoming impatient.

Kal heard a woman scream and could hear the muffled sounds a man gasping in pain, and another man whispering, "Time to die silly zombie. No brains for you!" Kal rushed as fast as he could and within moments he saw a bald man with a trim goatee and what appeared to be scars all over his body stabbing a young man several times. Kal wasted no time and rushed in, grabbing the bald man and tossing him into the side of a nearby building. Kal then rushed up and grabbed the man by his arm which held the knife and by his collar and pushed the man against the side of the building.

Kal tightened his grip on the mans arm. The man yelled in pain and let go of his knife. "Good." Kal said. "At least you're not stupid." The man coughed up some blood, and began to smile. "You think Zsasz is stupid? Only a Zombie would." Kal tightened his grip a tiny but more, making Zsasz wring in pain.

"Tell me where to find the Batman." Kal said in a loud voice. The mains face suddenly became void of pain, and an intense look of interest replaced it. "So…you're the one that's been looking for Bats." Zsasz gave out a slight chuckle. "I've got a spot saved for him." He then used his free hand to point to one of his scars; there were four slash wounds side by side, and countless others that had a fifth slash through all four. Kal could see a fresh scar he had just made for his newest victim.

Kal pushed Zsasz into the wall slightly, clearly making him uncomfortable. "Either you know where to find him or you don't. Either way you're done." Zsasz chuckled to himself again. He then took a deep breath and said very calmly. "He'll be by the docks tonight, by the abandoned warehouse… I can guarantee you that." Kal smiled behind his face, finally something to work with.

Kal grabbed Zsasz by both shoulders and gave him a light head but. Zsasz fell to the ground unconscious. Kal then turned over the body of the young man Zsasz had killed. Kal felt a momentary urge to turn around and pound Zsasz into the ground. His fists clenched as anger began to swell. Then Kal heard police sirens and he sped away, heading towards the docks and to The Batman…

Arriving at the docks Kal began to walk around normally so that if Batman were here, he'd see him coming. He searched for the abandoned warehouse and within several minutes he stood before it. The windows were boarded up and one of the loading docks looked like it had been crushed from a falling object. Kal moved in quietly to the door and slowly made his way inside.

Kal looked around…there was nothing. No sign of anyone in the building. All Kal found was a bunch of broken down machines and what looked to be a sleeping bag set up beneath some old crates. Kal began to feel enraged as he thought about how Zsasz had lied to him, but he knew that the police had him in custody by now and he wouldn't be hurting anyone else.

Kal turned around and left the abandoned warehouse, he closed the door behind him loudly, accidentally letting his anger get he better of him. The door cracked down the middle and the handle broke off. Kal looked down to his hands; he knew that he had to learn how to control himself before he got anyone else hurt.

Jonathan fell to the floor as fine china fell all around him. Suddenly the cabinets legs buckled and it began to fall onto Jonathan Kent. Clark moved as fast as he had run when he had accidentally hurt Whitney and caught the cabinet before it landed on his adopted Father. Clark pulled Jonathan up in his arms; he was bleeding from a wound on his head and he was unconscious. Clark looked up to Martha and saw a look that he would never forget…she was afraid of him.

Kal pulled himself out of his memories. Now that this lead had run dry he had to continue looking for the The Batman. As Kal was about to speed away he heard a loud bang from two warehouses down. Kal tried to listen hard for the sound of dock workers groaning about working so late into the night, but instead he heard the sound of men laughing as one of them spoke, "This is the easiest job ever. Things sure have been a lot better since the boss sprung himself out." Kal heard enough, he quickly sped over the side of the warehouse and crept over to a window. Kal began to peak through the corner of the window when he heard a gunshot, and the window above his head shattered into a thousand raining shards.

Spinning himself around Kal saw a two tall and rather large men, one was holding a pistol with a smoking barrel while the other one pointed a machine gun at Kal. Kal suddenly froze; he had only seen a gun like that on the television. He had survived when Lex had shot him, but that was a much smaller gun.

Kal was preparing to go speeding away when over a dozen more men, fully armed with bigger guns than Kal had ever seen and they pointed them all at Kal, who was petrified with fear, Kal doubted that he would walk away from this…

"This is private property sir! I have grounds to have you shot!" Kal heard a man speak from behind one of the nearby metal containers. The container cast a shadow over the man so all Kal could see was hi shoes, which looked like something people would have worn in the sixties.

"The men in there are robbing the warehouse; and I seriously doubt you have any legal rights to this warehouse or anything in it." There was a long silence as the men all pointed there guns at Kal, who tried to look strong as he could under the pressure.

"Tell me" the man in the shadows spoke again. "What brings you down to the waterfront? Sleep walking?" Kal was taken back, obviously whoever this guy was he was trying to mess with Kal's head. "I came here looking for The Batman." Kal said in a loud voice. The men looked from one to another and then seemed to tighten their grips on their weapons. Kal heard a low chuckle from the man in the shadows, who moved forward slightly revealing his purple pin stripe paints. "The Batman? What would you want with him. No wait! Let me guess… Oh I know, he's your long lost papa and you want to reconnect with him…" Kal stood there stone faced; something was very off.

"No? Hmmm, well then maybe you're a secret admirer of his and long to be held in his warm monstrous hands?" Kal took a step back as a look of utter confusion fell over his face. The man in shadows let out a high pitch laugh, "Hahaha, you should see your face pal. Priceless! Hahaha" Kal became very angry very quickly, he momentarily forgot about the dozens of guns pointed at him and moved in closer to the metal container that the man hid behind. Two of the mans goons dropped their guns and went to tackle Kal, but he grabbed both of their heads and clanged them together and they fell down unconscious.

There was another high pitched laugh from behind the contained, "I like you're style friend, top grade. Hahaha." The man continued to laugh hysterically as Kal moved in closer.

"Ah, ah, ah" The man said as he raised an arm out of the shadow to reveal a sawed-off shotgun. Kal froze in his place as the barrel of the gun was pointed directly at his chest from almost point blank range. Kals mind raced to his childhood in Smallville when his father had taken him out to scare off some wolves that were attacking the cattle. He remembered how loud the shotgun was, and how much it scared the animals in the forest. "Didn't anyone every teach you it's rude to crash a party you weren't invited to?"

Kal stood there frozen as the man took a step forward out of the shadow to reveal his purple suit and his white painted face. He had painted a smile on his face in red and his eyes were outlined in black. He had long stringy dyed green-blonde hair and a look of utter joy on his face. The man laughed to himself as he pulled the trigger and Kal was sent to the ground by the force of the gun. Kal rolled from the force of the gun and fell over the ledge of the dock. Kal grabbed hold of a plank of wood as his ears continued to ring.

He felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him. He found it hard to breath. _So this is death_. He thought as he hung from the dock. Kal released his grip and fell into the water, feeling strained by the constant ringing. Kal fell into the water and floated there for several moments before he worked up the courage to reach down and feel at where he had been shot, but just like his last encounter with a gun when he reached down there wasn't a scratch on him.

_Where does this end?_ Kal thought to himself as he thought over all the times the thought he was going to die, only to be saved by some divine power within him. Kals ears began to calm and he could hear the sound of gunfire above him; but the bullets weren't coming into the water after him.

Kal swam up and broke through water as the sounds of gunfire and laughter filled the air. Kal swam over to a support beam for the docks and began to shimmy his way up. Kal reached the docks and pulled himself up easily and when he looked up he saw the armed men all running about. Then a black shadow moved from one end of the warehouse into the moonlight and Kal knew immediately that his search was over. He had found The Batman.


	3. A Bat, A Clown, and A Man of Steel

"Are you sure Master Bruce?" Alfred said as Bruce, still dressed as The Batman in his black painted proto-type armor. Bruce snapped different armor plated into place on the armor, adding protection to his suit. "No; not sure. But it adds up." Bruce clipped a battle harness to his utility belt and then started to fill the pouches on the harness with all kinds of gadgets.

"You haven't gathered much along the lines of solid fact. As far as I can tell you could be putting together pieces that don't exist." Alfred said as Bruce filled one of the pouches on his harness with various kinds of gas and explosive pellets. "Fact," Bruce began. "20 years ago a meteor shower hit Smallville Kansas. Fact: One month after said meteor shower Jonathan and Martha Kent, both in their thirties and working on a farm come into town with their brand new baby boy. Fact: According to medical records Martha Kent was barren and unable to have children." Bruce finished stuffing the pouches full of all sorts of things and turned around to Alfred. "You haven't been using Mr. Elliot's pass codes to access people's medical files again have you?" Pulling up his cowl and putting on that dark, low voice Batman responded; ignoring Alfred's interjection. "Luthor Corp takes care of the clean up. And according to certain conspiracy theorists Lionel Luthor found something in meteors and labeled it 33.1." Batman moved over to the computer and pulled up a window showing that the computer was unable to get access to restricted Luthor Corp files about something called 33.1

"You can't get access though!" Alfred cut in desperately. "It could be anything. "Batman turned to Alfred. "If it wasn't important it wouldn't be worth putting up some of the most sophisticated firewalls on the planet. I can't even hack into it with my computer…Point is Lex is hiding whatever it was his Father unearthed in that Meteor shower." Alfred stood there, crossed arms and raised eyebrow, thinking about what Bruce had said.

"Ok, so that proves Luthor had something to do with the cleanup of the meteor shower, how does that make this young boy an Alien?" Batman turned back to his computer and pulled up several more files and the picture of young Mr. Kent he had taken. "I did a little more digging; apparently Lex has been looking for this guy as well. He calls him Kal though; I'm guessing he has no idea who the boy really is." Alfred uncrossed his arms and leaned over the chair, his interest growing.

"Truth be told Alfred, I wouldn't have found him so easily if his parents hadn't updated his missing persons report last week." Batman closed the files he had brought up and turned back to Alfred. "Best case scenario: he's a lost boy who should be sent home. Worst case: he's in league with Luthor, in which case he'll have to be stopped." Batman began walking towards the Bat-mobile, which with the switch of a button on Batman's belt, turned on and the engines began to roar.

"Always the optimist…do be careful Master Bruce; and try to bring the car back in one piece this time." As Batman entered the car and the roof slammed shut behind him, he couldn't help but smile.

S

Commissioner James Gordon sat on top of the Gotham City Major Crimes Headquarters; the flood-light with a painted bat on its lens was turned on, and an image of a giant bat filled the sky. Gordon stood smoking a tobacco pipe, smoke billowed all around him as he savored the sweet taste. He wore his usual work clothes, a tin-stripe button-up shirt with overalls that crossed at the back. His glasses reflected the light from the signal.

Gordon looked down at his watch… 2 AM. As he looked back up at the signal in the sky he took another long inhale from his pipe, blowing the smoke out slowly. As the smoke began to reach the flood-light, Gordon heard a low voice speak from behind him. "That stuff will kill you, you know."

Gordon turned around quickly to find the Dark Knight standing there, his cape draped over the front of him to conceal his body. A slight smile brimmed over Gordon's face briefly before being replaced with the same stone face Batman had become used to. "Apparently that isn't a fact yet Batman. I deal in facts." Gordon said as he took another long inhale. "I assume you know about the Joker…I put out an all points bulletin over a week ago."

Batman stood in place, "Ya, I heard. I've been tracking him since; I'm convinced he had inside help." Gordon wasn't surprised by this idea since he too suspected the Joker had made friends on the inside. "We've been investigating his therapist Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Her last few reports on the Jokers mental state she described him as 'A poet of our age.' and 'A truly tortured soul." We've been keeping a close eye on her to say the least."

Gordon tapped out the ash from his pipe and pocketed it. "This can't be all you called me up here for…" Batman spoke to Gordon, he had been avoiding coming here because he knew what might be coming.

"No actually, I wanted to talk to you about the last time Joker went on a rampage through this city. I don't have to remind you of what he did to Barbra." Batmans fists clenched under his cape as he remembered the blood that covered Jim's trench coat as he carried his wife's body out of the Joker's hiding place and into the middle of the street as Batman arrived on the scene.

"You don't have to remind me of anything that monster has done. Next time we make sure he goes to BlackGate; he belongs in prison, not in Arkham." As Gordon grinned slightly, Batman could still see the pain and guilt that flooded through him, after almost a year Jim still hadn't gotten over the loss of his wife, and Batman of all people could understand that grief.

"I'm glad you see it that way Batman." Jim turned around and turned off the flood-light. "Oh and you remember Zsasz... About five minutes ago my men picked him up on the street. He had a broken arm and several broken ribs, kept saying something about someone looking for Batman." Batman thought to himself, could it have been the boy? "Whoever roughed him up disappeared from the scene just before we arri," Just then, Gordon's police radio cut in.

"Attention all units we have a high-priority alert. Witness says he saw several dozen heavily armed men moving about in the abandoned warehouses by the docks, along with one man dressed up in purple and wearing face paint. I think we've got him Commissioner!" Gordon reached down and grabbed his radio. "Copy that, I'm on my way. Get my car ready." Gordon put his radio back on his belt and went to look back to Batman. "Are you coming wi," But when Jim looked up, Batman was gone. Jim moved over the ledge of the building and looked over. He saw nothing.

_How does he do that?_ Jim thought to himself before running over to the stairs and making his way back down into headquarters.

S

The Batmobile moved at top speed along the parkway. Batman had put the car on autopilot while he did a last minute look over of all of his gadgets; making sure he had anything the situation would call for.

Knowing he would have to avoid gunfire in the near future, Batman removed his battle harness and several of the armor plates he had added in-case he ran into this mysterious Clark Kent, but given as his battle plan had changed, he thought it best that he moved faster.

Using his cars computer, which had an automatic up-link into the GCPD computer network, Batman began to search for the call that was made to the police. Batman found that the file had already been moved into the Jokers file, making it much easier to find. Batman began the message:

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to report some bad things going on." The voice was low, as if someone was masking their voice. "I just saw a bunch of greasy looking people moven' about at the docks with bigger guns than Rambo has!" At the mention of Rambo the persons voice gave to reveal a higher pitched voice which seemed to be holding back laughter… "And I think that Clown from Joker-vision is with them! Wasn't that the best week of television ever?" Batman looked down to battle harness. Maybe he would need it.

As Batman put his harness back on he clicked a few buttons on his computer and before long he could hear the voice of Jim Gordon. "Yes, what is it?" "Listen to me Gordon, Joker was the one who made that call." There was silence on the other end. "Are you sure?" "Yes. You're heading into a trap. Joker probably wants revenge for you shooting out his knees." Gordon retorted quickly, and with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, "Those shots in the knees could have easily been in his chest Batman." Batman fell silent; he knew Jim didn't mean that, but still when he went to reply no words came.

After a while Batman heard Gordon sigh, "I'll keep my men back for 15 minutes. We'll be on silent approach until we hit the warehouse; whatever you're going to do…do it fast." With a click Gordon was gone. Batman switched the car to manual pilot and drove the rest of the way to the warehouse.

Batman pulled into a storage container that had been blown out from one side, making it an ideal place to hide the car. Batman jumped out of the car and immediately used his grappling gun to latch onto the roof of one of the nearby warehouses. Batman gave the rope a quick tug before the engaged the retract mechanism and was pulled up towards the roof. Batman landed gracefully on the roof and pulled out his binoculars from his utility belt.

Scoping out the area didn't take long. After several seconds of looking for movement Batman saw several armed men dressed in ragged old clothing running around a corner of one of the warehouses with lights on.

Batman lept from rooftop to rooftop, using his cape to glide through the air. He came to the rooftop of the warehouse where he had seen the armed men, and when he landed he saw over twenty armed men with AK-47's, M16s and several of the larger men held large anti-tank guns. They all pointed their guns at one man who wore a black leather jacket and had long jet black hair; Kent…_Maybe I should have kept on that extra armor._ Batman thought as he examined the situation before him.

Batman watched as Kent moved from his spot and advance towards another storage container not far from him. Two of the armed men put their guns down and moved in on Kent. He grabbed both of them by their heads and banged them together.

Suddenly Batman heard that laugh; that high pitched, bone chilling laugh. Kent was in for trouble. Before long Batman saw a gun emerge from the shadow; Batman reached into his belt and pulled out a bat-a-rang and threw it towards the gun, which the Joker held onto as he stepped out form behind the container.

Batman heard a loud bang and Kent went flying backwards, and rolled towards the edge of the docks before falling over the edge. As Kent rolled Batman's bat-a-rang collided with the shotgun and it flew from Jokers hand after setting off a second shot.

Batman reached up to his battle harness and began removing different pellets from his satchels. He used his grappling gun and latched onto a nearby flag pole which stuck out the side of the building he was on. He then threw the pellets to the ground and they exploded all around Jokers armed thugs. Batman leapt from the roof, using his grapple as a support cord he flew to the ground, landing on one of Jokers thugs with the anti-tank gun.

The large gun fell to the ground as the goon rubbed his head, trying to figure out what had happened, but before he could take his hands off his head, Batman delivered a powerful elbow to the top of the mans skull, knocking him out instantly.

Batman reached to his belt and pressed one of the buttons, his eye pieces turned green, giving him the ability to see through the smoke that he had made from all his pellets. Batman could see seven more goons moving through the smoke, coughing and trying to make their way through the smoke. Batman moved quickly and began to punch and kick his way from one goon to the other, leaving each one disarmed and unconscious as he went. As he made his way to the last of the seven, he looked up and could see the silhouette of The Joker, outside of the smoke searching around on the ground for his gun. Batman reached back down to the button on his belt and pressed it as he exited the smoke and stood before the Joker, who stood up with his Shotgun drawn.

"You're coming with me Joker." Batman said in a low tone, anger surging through him from watching that poor boy die like that. Joker raised an eyebrow and looked at Batman with slight irritation. He then turned to the goon who was closest to him. "What day is it?" Joker asked the man as the man pointed his gun at Batman. Looking slightly confused the man replied, "Uh…it's Thursday." A disgusted look came over Jokers face. "Yuck! Meatloaf night! You'll never take me back to Arkham alive! Come back on Tuesday. That pasta night! Yummy" The Joker rubbed his belly and then began to laugh as he pointed the barrel of his gun towards Batman.

A smile appeared on Batman's face. "What's so funny Bats? Finally laughing at one of my jokes?" A wide smile came over The Jokers face while the one on Batman's faded. "No," Batman said. "I'm laughing at the fact that you're threatening me with an unloaded gun." The grin returned to Batman's face as The Joker's vanished as he pulled the trigger to his gun and nothing happened.

"Blast him!" The Joker yelled as his goons began to open fire. Batman lept back into the smoke, disappearing from their sights. Eight of the Jokers men fired into the smoke blindly as the Joker reloaded his gun. After several moments the goons stopped firing and watching the smoke. The Joker moved in behind one of his goons and pushed him closer to the smoke, "Check it out" Joker said as he threw the man into the smoke.

After half a minute they heard the man scream, a few gun shots were heard before a loud thud, then…silence. The Joker made his way to the back of the crowd of goons, who were transfixed by fear, and then slunk away through the abandoned docks, and away from the Batman.

The goons watched intently at the smoke waiting for something to happen; none of them had noticed that their boss had abandoned them. Suddenly a bat-a-rang flew through the smoke and began to soar from one mans hand to the next, disarming every one of them before returning into the smoke on the other side. The bat-a-rang then reemerged not far from where it had disappeared into the smoke and began to fly from one head to another, knocking out every goon as it went.

From behind a small metal drum, Batman used a remote control to control where his bat-a-rang went, and using the controls he made it soar to the ground right in front of Batman, and he picked it up and pocketed it.

Batman then ran to the other side of the smoke and came barreling through only to come face to face with another twelve goons, six of which were armed and the others loaded a truck full of stolen crates. Batman moved quick, reaching into his pouch he pulled out several more gas pellets and threw them at the feet of the armed men as they opened fire and Batman quickly sped towards the docks before leaping behind an assortment of wooden crates. The bullets followed Batman for a while until they subsided, the knockout gas from the pellets taking effect on the goons as they passed out one by one. Batman emerged from cover and moved towards the truck that they were packing the crates into.

"Nice show Bats, but your dog-meat now!" Batman turned around and saw two more goons pointing guns at him. Batman went to reach for another bat-a-rang, but as he did the men opened fire. Bruce's life flashed before his eyes, and as he closed them shut and imagined his last moments with his parents, preparing for death, it did not come.

Batman opened his eyes and saw the two goons lying thirty feet from where they last stood, trying to pull themselves up off the ground; and where they used to stood, was Clark Kent, alive and well. Clark turned around to reveal the tatters of where he had been shot. He was soaked from head to toe, and though his jacket seemed to have only taken minor damage, his shirt was littered with bullet holes from the Jokers shotgun.

There was a long moment of silence as Batman stared down the young man in front of him. He barely looked like the picture of that young bright eyes Clark Kent from Smallville; if it weren't for the eyes Batman wouldn't have been so certain.

"So…you're The Batman." Kal said as he extended a hand to him. "My name's Kal." Kal's hand hung in the air as Batman continued to stare him down. His cape was draped over his body, concealing his hands which griped at a bat-a-rang and a pellet pouch.

"What do you want?" Batman said in a strong voice, knowing he didn't have long until Gordon and his men showed up. Kal was taken back; he pulled his hand back and put a more serious look on his face. "I…I need you're help." Kal began, "I want to do better. I want to be able to help people like you do. I want to help fight crime at all its levels." Batman never wavered in his gaze on Kal. _Stupid kid._ He thought to himself.

"You don't know what it means to fight crime. Your just a silly kid whose way out of his element. Go home, and don't let me catch you in Gotham again." Kal took a step back. This was not what he was expecting. Batman had seen him in action, had seen what he could do. Why wasn't he jumping for joy?

"Look, I know I'm not as experienced as you are, but I can" "Run at super-human speeds, toss people like they were dolls, and oh ya…you're bullet proof, apparently." Kal cast a dumbfound look at Batman, he just could not understand. "Do you even know what you did to Zsasz?" A look of agitation came over Kals face. "Zsasz murdered a man, all I did was knock him out." Batman still stood, unmoving. "No, you broke several ribs and one of his arms. And from the look on your face I'm betting you didn't even know you did until now." As Batman spoke a look of concern came over Kal. He had never meant to hurt Zsasz so much, maybe in his anger and frustration he had lost control of his strength.

"I never meant to hurt him so bad." Batman cut in. "You didn't mean to? I've heard so many criminals utter those words to me as I carted them off to BlackGate…" Batman turned around, "Go home kid. This isn't the job for you."

Kal lowered his heard and closed his eyes. Go home? How could he go home after what he had done? After he had hospitalized his own father and put the fear of god into his mother. He couldn't go home and face them…

Kal felt anger brew inside of him, and as he raised his head to retort, The Batman was gone. Kal listened intently for any sound, but there was none, until police sirens sounded all around the dock. Kal kicked it into super speed and sped off, while Batman sat on a roof top, hidden in the shadows of a ventilation exit on the roof and watched as Clark Kent sped off into the Gotham Night.


	4. New Dawn

Police sirens wailed away as Gordon's' and six other squad cars pulled up to where all of the Jokers men lay unconscious on the ground. The cars all came to a halt in strategically placed spots to make certain no one could get in or out. Gordon ordered his thirteen men out of their cars and shouted, "Bag 'em and tag 'em boys." The officer's moved quickly, handcuffing the thugs one by one before they started to load them into the squad cars.

Gordon began to examine the scene; as moved to the entrance to the abandoned warehouse he heard a thud in the shadows. Gordon pulled out his revolver and took cover behind the corner of the building. Gordon took a deep breath as he felt his blood begin to pump through his body. "This is the police! Come out with your hands up!" Gordon shouted around the corner. Several of the officers heard Gordon shout, and they too readied their weapons and took cover; awaiting Gordon's orders.

Suddenly Gordon heard gunshots as bullets began to fly past his face as someone shot at the corner of the building he was taking cover behind. Gordon examined the brick wall he was up against; thanking his lucky stars Gordon motioned four of his officers to move around to the back of the warehouse to flank the attackers. Suddenly Gordon heard a break in the gunfire; he quickly peaked around the corner and saw the Batman fighting two thugs as two others ran down the alley trying to escape. Batman made quick work of the thugs, and as the other two were about to cut around the corner, Gordon heard one of his officers shout "Freeze!" The two thugs turned around, one raised a pistol and a gunshot was fired as an officer shot the thug in the shoulder from out of site; before the thug fell to ground he fired a single shot. At the sight of his friend being shot, the other thug quickened his pace and ran as fast as he could away from the battle.

Gordon holstered his pistol and ran past Batman to find out if his officer had been harmed. Gordon ran around the back corner of the building to find officer Montoya nursing a minor wound to her left arm. "Montoya! Are you okay?" Gordon knelt beside Montoya, her hat had been knocked off when she fell and her long brown hair was hanging over his left shoulder in a ponytail. "I'm fine Commissioner; nothing a first aid kit won't fix." A feeling of great relief went through Gordon. "Good. Drake, go get Montoya the first aid kit, and tell Shepard to get these three." Officer Drake ran off immediately as Gordon walked back down the alley, Batman was nowhere to be seen.

"I know you're still here. It's easier to talk to you when I can see you." Gordon could feel him before he saw him. He turned around and standing not five feet away in the shadows was the dark silhouette of the Batman. "Thanks for the help. I figured you'd still be around." "I had to pick up the stranglers who thought they could wait me out. That and I have something to tell you." Gordon crossed his arms and looked down at his watch. "Try and make it quick, I'm going to be up for another two hours getting these dirt bags processed in the system." Batman stayed in shadows, silently thinking as the pondered how to best present this to Gordon. "I didn't want to say this over the radio incase someone was listening." Gordon suddenly became very attentive to what Batman said. "But I think someone in your communications department might be working with the Joker." A look of utter distaste came over Gordon's face. "What make's you think that Batman?" "Listen to the call that came in giving you the info about the Joker tonight. Any cop would recognize that it was him, I'm thinking the call was a signal to get you out of the headquarters so Joker could get at you." Gordon's eyes never wavered off of Batman. "You're sure?" "It's a hunch. Listen to the call." Gordon took a long deep breath and rubbed his nose where his glasses would rest. "Thanks I guess…" Gordon looked again into the shadows but Batman was gone.

Gordon walked back to the squad cars, they were all filled with three thugs each, not a bad catch. Gordon could see Montoya fixing herself up on the trunk of her squad car as several other officers either secured the area or read the thugs that had regained consciousness their rights. Gordon moved about the crime scene, examining the countless empty gun shells and spotting several of Batman's batarangs that had been left behind. Gordon came to a large metal container near the dock that had several shotgun shell casings littered about. Gordon looked to the ground and thought of blood bath that would have occurred if Batman hadn't come to his rescue.

Gordon suddenly noticed what looked to be little metal pebbles on the ground by his feet. Gordon knelt down to get a better look and saw that they weren't pebbles, but shotgun pellets. Gordon reached for a latex glove from a small pouch on his belt and put it on his left hand. He picked up the bullet and saw that the pellets looked like they had been crushed upon impacting with whatever they hit. Gordon began to count the number of pellets; there were enough to fill a full shell. Gordon's mind raced as he tried to wrap his mind around what could have been not feet away from him that could take a shotgun at nearly point blank and do this to the ammo…

S

Inside of the abandoned "Wayne House" Kal paced frantically. _What am I going to do now?_ He thought to himself as he replaced his tattered shirt with a fresh black t-shirt with a red shoulder and neck. Kals mind flashed back the docks as the Batman's word echoed in his head. "This isn't the job for you." "Go Home."

Kals mind flickered back to the farm house, his mother looking at him as if he were some kind of monster…some kind of freak. Tears began to swell in Kals eyes as he remained trapped in that memory, unable to forget the blood that stained his plaid shirt as his father lay there…and he was responsible… "I can't go back." Kal said to himself as he stopped pacing and sat down on a weathered old bench.

Kal then lay down on the bench, letting his left leg hang over the side touching the ground. He took a deep breath and tried desperately not to think about his past. He had to focus on the now, on what he would do next. He contemplated leaving Gotham, but everywhere he went things never worked out and he always had to leave; Star City, Quebec, Brazil, Mexico, and even Miami…now he was going to leave Gotham before he had even had a chance?" _No."_ He thought, '_I won't give up." _

Kal picked himself up off of the bench and knelt down and pulled out several boxes that were stuffed with newspapers concerning the Batman and everything Kal had found that he thought might be connected to him. Kal sat down and started pulling out the different papers; one read 'Dent Family Tragedy! District Attorney Harvey Dent is Sole Survivor!' Kal looked at the picture of the former DA and his whole family, all smiling towards the camera. Kal picked up another, 'Crime Rate Down 25% in Last Three Months! Could 'The Batman' be More Than Myth?' Kal skimmed through several more papers and stopped on one that had a headline that read 'Bruce Wayne funds White Dwarf Research. Lead Scientist Ray Palmer Speaks!" Kal opened up the paper and began speed reading until he found the article he was looking for. Kal began to read it over and over, memorizing every word:

_Since the terrorist known only as 'The Joker' was apprehended by Lieutenant James Gordon (who was selected as replacement for Commissioner Loeb after Loeb's arrest by Detective Bullock for crooked dealings), what everyone thought would be a simple trial turned into an insanity plea, which lead to 'The Joker' being sent to Arkham Asylum. (which most of you probably already know). Well it seems now that the self proclaimed 'Clown Prince of Crime' apparently attacked one of his cell mates. The incident is being kept under wraps, but you will be kept up to date on what's happening with the clown._

_Written by Perry White_

Kal put the paper down and grabbed the second box he had pulled out. The box was full of news articles about what the Joker had done during his first rampage through Gotham. Kal shook as he thought of the devastation and chaos that would ensue from this maniacs second rampage.

Just then a thought came to Kal. _What better way to show Batman I'm up for this than by taking this psychopath down._ Kal lept to his feet, if he wanted to find this clown, he was going to have to start now. He packed up his papers into the boxes and pushed them sloppily under the bench before speeding out of the safe house and into the streets of Gotham.

S

Johnny Frost ran as fast as he could through the alleyways and dark corridors of Gothams streets. Sweat ran down his face, stinging his eyes and running off of his nose. He stopped for breath beside a garbage can, leaning against the stone wall of a large apartment building. Johnny gasped as he could feel the pistol he had put in that back of his belt pushing against him. He pulled out the pistol and looked at it for a long moment, thinking of the havoc that had just ensued. "All of this for more guns? What's he planning?" Johnny sat down beside the garbage can, the smell of feces and rotten something filling his nostrils. He looked across from himself and thought he saw someone sitting in the shadows. Johnny froze; he began to examine the person he could barely make out, but he soon saw that the person was holding a gun. Johnny raised his just as the other person did, Johnny fired a shot and suddenly he heard something shatter, and what sounded like money hitting the ground. Johnny moved forward and saw that he had shot a mirror. He examined himself in the broken shards on the ground, his short brown hair had blood in it; his head was wounded, which he hadn't noticed until now. He reached up and felt at his head, it was just a minor wound, it had already stopped bleeding. As he felt at his wound he walked back over to the garbage and sat down a few feet away from it, but he could still smell it.

Johnny pulled out a pack of gum and began to chew frantically on it before he pulled himself up and began to walk his way through the deep labyrinth of the Gotham backstreets.

Corner after corner, alley after alley Johnny walked until he found it; an entrance leading into the lower parts of one of the tall buildings, Johnny wasn't exactly sure which one it was; there was a small sign on the railings leading into the underground hideout that read "All Are Welcome". Johnny laughed to himself as the thought of all of the homeless that had stumbled upon it only to be recruited into Joker's private army, or beaten to death by a group of angry psychotics. Johnny walked down the steps and knocked twice on the door.

"Whose there?" Johnny heard a muffled voice come from behind the door. "Orange." Johnny replied laxly. "Orange who?" the muffled voice replied. "Orange you glad I'm not dressed like a rodent?" The door swung open and revealed several armed men who had their faces painted like an assortment of clowns. Johnny walked by them without talking to them, some of the crazier guys almost worshiped Joker, wanted to be just like him. Johnny shook at the idea of anyone else out there as bad as Joker was.

Johnny walked through a small corridor which had several sitting benches beside an elevator lift, which had a sign beside it that read "Attention! Do not be alarmed if the elevator lift begins acting strangely. Your worries will be short lived." Johnny pressed the button for the elevator and the door opened instantly. Johnny stepped into the elevator and pushed the button that had a smiley face painted over it; then waited as he listened to the music that he had become accustomed to hearing in elevators.

The door swung open and when Johnny looked up there was a gun pointed in his face. "What's the password?" Someone screamed at him, Johnny couldn't look past the gun. "Uh…pass…what?" The gun was lowered to reveal the smiling painted face of the Joker. "Congratulations Johnny Johhny! You just won you're life! Hahaha…" Joker looked at the terrified expression on Johnny's face. "Oh take it easy, you know I'd never hurt a fly unless it crossed me. You did good tonight Johnny Johnny." Joker threw his arm around Johnny and pulled a wade of hundred dollar bills out of one his coat pockets. "You earned this." The Joker walked Johhny threw 'The Play Area' where most of Jokers men were practicing fist fighting, knife play, playing poker or working on their guns. There were several TV's that hung from the ceilings with different channels on them.

Joker continued to guide Johnny through the base; he led him into a corridor that had many doors on either side. They came close to the end of the corridor and entered the third door down from the end. Johnny looked around as he took in the long room that had several large water pipes running through it and several electrical boxes around. Joker quickly led Johnny to the end of the room and entered a door that was seemingly hidden between two power boxes. They entered into the Joker's throne room, which had a large bed tucked into a corner, as well as several tables which were littered with different guns and knives and explosives. The Joker moved over to a desk which was beside the bed and pulled out what looked like blueprints.

"Take these to Gotham Archives and switch them with the real ones." Johnny looked at the blueprints; they were for a simple house design and up in the corner was a house number designation. "I don't get it boss." Joker was seemingly ignoring Johnny, admiring a picture of himself in straight jacket with a pretty blonde in a doctors coat giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What's not to get? She's a gal and I'm a fella. If you can't put two and two together by now Johnny Johnny I'm not sure you ever will." Johnny chuckled to himself before the Joker broke out into laughter. "You see Johnny Johnny, nothing to worry about. Get to the archives and take care of it. And take a few days off…when you get back we're going to pay a congratulatory stop by the new Commissioner's house…he left something with me that I can't wait to give back!" Joker then pulled a revolver out of his pocket that resembled the one that Gordon used; he then began to laugh hysterically to himself. Johnny left quietly, leaving the Joker to his thoughts, unsure about what Joker meant, but knowing that he was glad he wasn't a cop right now.

S

Alfred was asleep on a single bed in the small living quarters that he and Bruce had built to accommodate them. Suddenly his watch began to beep; Alfred shuffled in his bed for a moment, and then was woken by the constant beep. Alfred lifted himself up from the bed and removed the covers to see that he was still wearing his uniform. Alfred looked down at his watch and turned off the alarm, then looked at the time; 6:30 AM. "Perfect," Alfred thought, "starting the day off in a dirty uniform…Wonderful." Alfred lifted himself out of bed stretched out his back, which usually felt off after sleeping in the cave, and then made his way out of the living quarters and down a flight of stone steps that were carved into the rock until they ended at a wall that had a large metal door. Alfred pushed on the door and it swing open; Alfred could hear the hydraulic mechanisms at work to help swing the door open.

Alfred entered the large cave and found Bruce sitting at a chair, sitting back with one hand one his chin. Alfred approached him, "Master Bruce…how did you fare?" Bruce had removed his cowl, cape and gauntlets. "I told him to go home…but you should have seen it Alfred." Bruce rose from his chair, with a look on his face that Alfred had never seen before; one of bewilderment, hope, and fear. "He took a shotgun to the chest at point blank, and then stopped two of Joker's goons from turning me into Swiss cheese. I watched them pull the trigger, I heard the gunshots. Then I closed my eyes…I was sure I was dead Alfred." Bruce looked straight into Alfred's eyes, the look on his face become more and more urgent. "He moves faster than a bullet, which can't kill him." There was a pause, Bruce was gathering his thoughts. "Did you speak with him?" "Yes. He said he wanted to help. To fight crime at all it's levels." There was another pause. "And?" Alfred said urgently. "And I told him to go home…did I do the right thing Alfred?" Before Alfred could answer Bruce continued. "Someone who can do the things he can…he pretty much tried to enlist with me Alfred, and I just turned him away, sent him home to his parents…does that make me stupid?" A smile brimmed over Alfred's face; after all he had been through he still didn't realize what was obvious to Alfred every minute of every day. "No Master Bruce. That makes you a good person." Bruce locked eyes with Alfred. "You told a confused young man to go home to the people who love him enough to keep looking for him two years after he's disappeared; instead of using him for your own gains…you did the right thing."

Alfred placed a comforting hand on Bruce's shoulder, and Bruce smiled. "Thanks Alfred, but if you don't mind I have work to do. Bruce patted Alfred on the shoulder, and then turned around and headed to his computer. Bruce pushed a button and all of the screens turned on, Bruce then sat down at the chair and began pouring through files on the Joker and his known accomplices. Alfred's smile never wavered as he headed back to the long, winding staircase that led back up to Wayne Manor. "Oh, and when do you think you'll have fixed the elevator?" Bruce looked over his shoulder to Alfred, "I'll get it as soon as I can." Bruce then turned back to his computer and continued his search for the Joker; while Alfred walked down the dark corridors of the cave, arriving at the stairs he stretched his legs and began his long and arduous walk back to the mansion he loved so much. _After all,_ Alfred thought to himself, _Master Bruce isn't the only one I take care of these days_...

{ I'm planning on having next chapter up in a few days, so you won't have to wait long to find out who Alfred's talking about. Also in coming chapters you'll be filled in more on how far along Batman is in his 'career'. More Lex in the next chapter, find out what he's doing with his phase shifter and how he came up with it in the first place…

Kal's looking for the Joker…wonder how that'll turn out. Hope anyone who has read this far is enjoying it)


	5. The Golden Horse

Chapter 5:

Alfred took a great sigh of relief as he reached the top of the stairs; he pulled on a lever and a small door large enough for one body opened and Alfred stepped through. Alfred appeared in Wayne manor through the Grandfather Clock that rested in the study. Alfred closed the door behind him and locked the glass case so little hands wouldn't accidentally stumble across them. Alfred looked to his watch again; 7:30 AM… "That trek takes longer and longer every time." Alfred thought to himself as he left the study room and entered a grand hallway, whose walls were covered in paintings depicting Wayne family members as far back as the Renaissance.

A surge of pride went through Alfred as he compared his Master Bruce to the men on the wall; they had all lived privileged lives, and accomplished much for the world around them, the only difference between Bruce and these men in Alfred's mind was one terrible night. Alfred stopped dead in the hallway as the thought of Thomas and Martha Wayne and their tragic demise filled his mind. A tear streamed down his cheek as he remembered being disturbed from his house work to the phone call that shook his world, and shattered young Bruce's. Alfred couldn't help but feel pity for Bruce, as well as the young boy who Alfred now had to awaken into a world without his parent's; who just like Bruce, had his parent's torn from his life by a madman.

Pulling himself together Alfred continued on his way through Wayne manor. "The day will be hard enough for him without me being emotional." Alfred thought to himself as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor. Alfred stopped before the door and took a deep breath before reaching out and grasping the doorknob.

As Alfred entered the room he was surprised to see young Richard Grayson already awake. His back was turned to Alfred as he looked out of the window, which had a magnificent view of the sun rising over Gotham. Alfred could not help but feel that he had lived through this moment once before with Bruce, and he did not want to go through it again…but he knew he had to. "Good morning Master Richard, what shall it be for breakfast today?" Dick remained silent; Alfred wondered whether or not he had slept at all. Alfred knew all too well the pain of a young man on the anniversary of his parents' death…

Alfred cleared his throat at tried again to interact with Dick. "Would you like me to whip up some of my famous eggs and bacon? Or how about some cereal and milk?" Alfred said in a cheerful yet understanding tone, yet still Dick remained silent. "…Very well." Alfred said in a disappointed tone as he turned around and began heading to the door. Just then Alfred heard Dick cry out, "Alfred!" He turned around quickly to see Richards' young face covered in tears, his eyes were blood shot and he was biting on his lower lip, which trembled as he tried to hold back his tears. Alfred locked eyes with the child, and his heart began to break. Alfred couldn't bear the idea that someone so young, a child of ten years old, could be under such unbearable pain…and the one person that would understand him best was directly below him, unaware to what was happening.

Alfred knelt down and gave Richard a big hug as he began to sob into Alfred's shoulder. Alfred tried to think of the words to say that would help, but he knew that nothing he said could possibly change how Richard felt. A sudden feeling of resentment towards Bruce rushed through Alfred, this boy needs him and he was off playing detective. Alfred quickly tossed the thought from his mind as Richard pulled his face out of Alfred's shoulder, "I miss them so much Alfred." Alfred felt his throat dry up as he fought back tears, "I should have been up there with them!" Alfred's heart sank as the boy spoke these words. Alfred looked into Dick's eyes, and Alfred could see that he did not mean those words. Alfred knew that the boy needed to let it out. "I miss them…Why did they have to die?"

Last time Alfred had been asked that question he did not have an answer to give, and this time was no different. Alfred held Richard as he wept; Alfred knew there was no healing a wound so deep. He knew that scars of this magnitude never go away, and that this poor boy would carry the wounds until the day he died…

S

The sun breaks through the cracks of the shades in Luthor Mansion, which was located on the outskirts of Metropolis. Light danced up the sheets of Lex's bed, and once the light hit his eyes Lex awoke from his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked over to the other side of the bed, where young Tess Mercer lay beside him. Lex ran his hand along her back, grinning devilishly while he did.

A light moan escaped Tess as Lex stopped moving his hand and rose out of bed. He threw on a black silk morning robe and left his room, leaving Tess to sleep the morning away. Lex walked through his mansion until he arrived at the dining room. Lex liked having all of his meals in this room whenever he stayed at the Mansion. It reminded him of his childhood when his mother used to sit and watch him eat his meals, rarely eating meals of her own.

As Lex entered the dining room he was surprised to see that another one of his 'Agents' were sitting along the side of the table waiting for Lex to enter. "Good morning Corben. What brings you here old friend?" Corben turned his head and his face lit up with a smile at the sight of his old friend. "Lex; it's good to see you!" John Corben rose from his seat and gave Luthor a firm handshake. "What brings you here John?" Lex released John's hand as he walked around him and sat at the head of the table. "Well I wish I could say I was here so we could head down to Miami like the old days, but unfortunately its business today." Lex picked up a small bell and rang it several times to alert his staff to bring him his food.

John pulled out a briefcase from under the table before he sat back down at his seat. He opened his briefcase on his lap, and removed several files before placing it back under the table. "I've got a progress report from Dr. Franken and his team. They have been at work non-stop all night and have finished the first piece of the phase shifter. They have begun to install the components to the machine." Lex clapped his hands together several times as a smile broke over his face. "Excellent! Dr. Franken is worth every penny." John smiled at his friend. He brushed his hands through his short blonde hair and handed Lex the progress report.

"There has also been some strange activity with the… " 'Source'". Lex's smile quickly broke away as his staff brought him his food. Lex waited for the staff to finish setting the table for him, and once the last one was gone he spoke. "What kind of activity?" Lex picked up his fork and began eating the exquisite looking omelet that was in front of him. "Well we reported several odd power failure's throughout the facility. They've been small and short lived but we haven't had a reason for them until now." Lex thought back to the many time's his lights had flickered when he was working at the lab. "It turns out that the power has been being rerouted to the Restricted Wing…" John slid the second portfolio across the table which Lex caught and opened it up, reading through it as fast as he could.

"You're sure these readings are accurate?" Lex put the portfolio down and continued eating his meal. "Yes sir. I had the men run the figures three times." Lex stopped eating his omelet, which was only three quarters the way done. "I want to inspect it personally. Tell your driver to bring his car around front." Lex got up from his seat and began walking towards to the door. "He's already waiting for us Lex. I figured you'd want to look into this." Lex didn't respond as he left the dining room and headed straight back to his bedroom to change. Lex's mind raced with idea's about what that…thing could be doing. He had to make sure that his operation wasn't put in jeopardy because of his fathers' 'golden horse'.

S

In the heart of Gothams business district was a very busy and fast place, especially during the day. As early as four AM the streets were packed with cars; people on their way to work, or home from work, or out on any million of errands that would bring one to this part of town. Like any other day the workers inside of The Gotham Times building worked frantically away finding information and writing articles for the paper; for over fifty years this paper had been a reliable source of information, even during Commissioner Loeb's time in service.

Busy away at her desk, Vicki Vale worked frantically to finish her paper on the decline in crime since Gordon was assigned Commissioner. Vale had been asked by her Editor, Alex Knox to write what in Vale's opinion was a 'kiss-ass article' about the new Commissioner to honor what he had done for Gotham. Vale had no problem with honoring the man, but Knox had made her leave out any mention of the Batman and Gordon's supposed involvement with him. Vale let out a long sigh as she put the final lines on her article: _This reporter (and her Editor) will feel much safer knowing that the man who put the most dangerous criminal Gotham has even encountered behind bars is calling the shots._ "If only he were in charge of Arkham too, then that psycho might still be there and not out prowling the streets." Vale jumped in her seat at the sound of low grizzly voice of her senior reporter. "Holy crap Perry, how long have you been reading over my shoulder?"

There was still a look of shock on Vale's face, and Perry White couldn't help but laugh a little. "Don't worry about that right now. You know Oliver Queen right?" A number of images of a pretty blonde boy with too much money and an overly addictive personality rushed through her mind. "Ya, I've read a few articles about him…why?" Vicki pulled the last page of her article from the type-writer and slipped it into a folder with the rest of her article in it. "I heard a report that one the Queen family yachts was capsized last night in the Caribbean, and there's mixed reports that say he's one it." Vicki felt a surge of worry, both Oliver and Bruce led similar life styles; parties, pretty girls, yachts…Vicki cringed at the idea that it could have been Bruce.

At that thought an intense smile lit up Vicki's face. Perry responded in kind, "Can I take that as a yes?" The question pulled Vicki out of her thoughts, and she responded to Perry with a tilted head and shrugged shoulders. "Sorry Perry, I've had dinner plans with Bruce for this night for over a month, and I won't miss it for Oliver Queen, no matter how much liquid he might have consumed." Vicki tucked her portfolio under her arm and began walking past Perry through the slew of desks that had other workers scrambling away.

"Guess you haven't heard he's still in Berlin…" Vicki stopped dead in her tracks; her chest began to tense up and she could feel a burning feeling behind her eyes._ Not again…_ she thought as Perry walked up next to her as spoke, "He's been there for the last four days, and he's scheduled to make an appearance at the Wall tomorrow morning…sorry kid." Perry patted Vicki on the back and began making his way to his own desk, which sat across from Vale's.

Vicki continued walking towards the elevator, fighting back the anger at being stood up by Bruce Wayne…again. _At least this time I have advance notice._ Vicki thought as stopped at the elevator door. She thought momentarily about when she had met Bruce at one of his fundraisers…she thought he was just a smug, rich, pampas ass. _Got to learn to go follow your gut Vale._

At that Vicki marched back to Perry's desk and tossed her article onto her own. Vicki crossed her arms and glared at Perry, "So what's you're plan?" Perry face lit up with a grin that said he had something special plan. "I know a guy in Metropolis that can get into the Queen Information banks." "So why do you need me?" "Well that's the thing, the guy can do it, but he charges me out the ying-yang because of an article I wrote about his work at Queen Industries…I mean what kind of man puts a knife in a teddy bear?" At that Vicki raised her left eyebrow in agitated confusion. "What? Excuse me Perry, but why would I even want to be in the same room with that kind of person?"

Perry reached into his desk and pulled out two plane tickets, stuffing one into his jacket pocket and handing one out to Vicki. "Do you want in?" Vicki glared at Perry some more before snatching the ticket out of his hand. "Fine; but I'm writing the main article, you're doing support articles. Got it!" Perry was taken back at Vicki's aggressive behavior. He wasn't used to seeing her like that, but he knew how furious a woman whose been stood up could be, so Perry just smiled and nodded.

"Good." Vicki said as she grabbed her bags and began to march off to the elevator. Perry looked from her to the portfolio she had left on her desk. "What about you're article?" Perry shouted, Vicki didn't even look back when she answered. "If Knox wants it that bad I'm sure he'll be down to get it soon enough." Vicki marched into the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor.

S

Johnny Frost moved casually down the streets of Gotham. He wore large black sunglasses to conceal his face. His finger's flicked through the stack of money in his pocket which the Joker had given him. In all his days of petty crime and running with street gangs he never saw a payout so good from one night's work. Of course no one he had ever worked with was as crazy as Joker was.

Johnny shivered to himself as thought of the amount of crazies the Joker had attracted to himself in such a short time. It wasn't surprising though. Johnny had seen the way Joker talked to people and knew how…persuasive he could be.

Johnny pulled himself out of his thoughts at the sound of a large semi as its horn wailed away. He looked around and saw a familiar street vendor selling bootleg cassettes for a fraction of their original price. Johnny stopped and picked up the newest Guns N' Roses cassette before he continued down the street to his apartment building. As Johnny opened the door to his building he had the sudden feeling that he was being watched. He swung himself around and began to look all around for something…anything that looked out of place.

After a moment Johnny shook his head, convincing himself that he was just spooked from the job he had done. Johnny walked into his building and headed towards the elevator, flipping his bootleg cassette in the air. This was Shelley's favorite band, they'd listen to the whole thing tonight, drinking the house dry as they did…Johnny couldn't wait.

S

As Johnny looked around, Kal quickly hid behind the corner of the wall he had been peaking around. Kal waited a moment before looking back to see Johnny enter the building, flipping the cassette he had bought in his hand. Kal smiled to himself as he pulled out a small piece of folded paper from his jacket pocket. He unfolded it and looked at the face of the man on it. He had found one of the Joker's known accomplices, part one was done.

Kal knew all he had to do now was to wait for this Johnny Frost to make his way back to the Joker. What he would do when he found him was still in the planning phase, Kal was unsure how long Johnny would stay at the apartment, but he had time to wait.

S

The hours had rolled away seemingly fast to Bruce, who had been toiling away over his computer since Alfred had left. As hard as Bruce tried to focus on the Joker he found it impossible to try and predict what he was up to. The Joker's men had been caught smuggling heavy weapons into Gotham. Batman had seen them first hand; it was almost as if Joker was planning for a war…the thought didn't sit well sit Bruce.

Bruce poured over several more files on Harleen Quinzel. If she was somehow responsible for the Joker's escape it was entirely possible that Joker would come back for her; yet the thought that Joker would display such chivalrous behavior was almost a joke in itself.

Bruce was pulled from his thoughts by the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall. Bruce rose from the computer and made his way over to his chemical station to start preparing anti-toxin for Jokers laughing gas. After several moments Alfred walked onto the platform and stood there, not speaking.

Alfred's presence never disturbed Bruce, but for some reason Bruce felt as if Alfred were burning a hole in the back of his head with his eyes. "I know I haven't fixed the elevator yet. I'll get it done tomorrow." There was no answer from Alfred for a moment. There was a loud screech from a bat that seemed to startle Alfred into answering.

"Do you even know what today is, Master Bruce?" Bruce put down the beaker he was analyzing to make sure the color of the anti-toxin was correct. "It's Thursday." Bruce replied monotonously. Alfred took a deep breath in half frustration. "Today is the anniversary of the death of The Flying Graysons…" Bruce suddenly stopped everything he was doing. Alfred watched as his head lowered and he put both his hands on the counter top. "I know how painful it must be for Dick, but I'm working on catching the man who killed his parents." Bruce spoke in a hollow, yet sorrow-filled tone. He knew he should go and consol the young boy, but Joker had to be stopped. "What that boy needs isn't revenge or the promise of it. He needs a father figure to help him through this time of his life. I knew when you brought him here that it was because how he lost his parents mirrors the way you lost yours; but if you don't do something to help this boy he will be just as sad, just as distant from everyone as you were during that time." Bruce stood up straight and turned to Alfred, a stern look on his face. "You have a real chance to help him here; and if you'd rather sit here in the cave by yourself than go and try to make that poor boy feel like he's not lost and alone in the world, then be my guest. I was there for you when you needed it, now it's time for you to be there for him when he needs you."

Bruce and Alfred stood there in silence for a moment. Alfred was breathing heavily and watched Bruce intently as he thought to himself. Suddenly Bruce smiled at Alfred; then, turning his back he began to walk over the computer terminal. Bruce pushed one large yellow button and all of the screens shut off. Bruce turned back to Alfred, still smiling. "Is Dick upstairs now?" Alfred uncrossed his arms held returned Bruce's smile. "No, he's out with the Gordon children at the moment. The Commissioners sister is watching over them." Bruce began to walk with Alfred down the long corridor of the cave. "Good. Call our man in Germany and tell him to book a ticket for Bruce Wayne to Gotham. Make it so I landed on the next flight in." Alfred thought of all of the secrecy that went into Bruce's double life, thinking of the thousands of dollars they had already spent. "Yes Master Bruce, I'll call him as soon as we walk up the stairs…" Alfred gave Bruce a long glance, which Bruce returned with a smile. "I told you Alfred, I'll do it tomorrow."

S

Lex opens the door to the Restricted Wing of his father's secret facility. No one but Lex, Corben, Lionel Luthor and his old associate Emil Hamilton had ever set eyes on what lay within a large containment pod on the far end of the Wing. The pod had all sorts of wire's coming out of it that were hooked up to over a dozen computers. Lex walked by the computers and stopped before the pod.

"What do you think it could be doing?" Corben said as he walked up behind Lex after shutting the door behind them. "It might not be doing anything. It could have been an error in the software." John looked from the pod to Lex. "Reports said software has been running effectively." Lex chuckled to himself. "No one's been in to monitor the computers since we were last here. As much as I trust you John when it comes to brains, I'll take my own analysis over anyone else on the planet…no offense." Lex added with a sinister grin on his face; one which Corben returned with a chuckle. "Fair enough Lex; you get started on that, I'll pop open the pod to do a diagnostic."

Lex took off his suit jacket and began to analyze two computers at once; making sure that there had been no computer errors at the time of the power shortages in other wings. Corben walked over to the pod and pressed a large rectangular panel along its bottom. There was a hissing noise heard as the pod depressurized itself, then the mechanical gears in the pod began to work and opened up the lid.

The sight never failed to amaze Corben. There, sitting in the pod was an artificial life form; purely mechanical yet it had the same body shape as a human. The machine had an engraving on it's forehead of what looked to be three circular objects with one in the center, and two other on either side slightly elevated above the center circle. John looked across the machines face, and for a moment the thought he saw a light in its eye socket. At second glance there was nothing there, yet John had never seen something like that happen to the machine before…maybe there was something going on.

S

It watches as the bald one works away, obvious intellectual superiority. The other moves in closer, muscular readings show many signs of combat…scan insufficient. Warning! Detection imminent; retinal sensory input offline. Detection averted. Audio sensory insufficiently repaired. Power at 14%, minimal power requirements met…Brainiac is Online.

(More to come: Next chapter, the showdown between Kal and Joker, expect the unexpected.)


	6. Taking Down The Clown

Chapter 6:

"Get out! Just get out now!" Shelley screamed as she shoved Johnny through the front door of her apartment and threw his jacket in his face. By the time Johnny removed his jacket from his face Shelley had already slammed the door on him. Johnny heard the door click shut as Shelley began locking up, making sure Johnny couldn't get back in.

Johnny took an envelope out of his jacket which had the money the Joker had given him; he took out five thousand dollars and slipped it under the door. "It's for the kids Shell." As Johnny turned and began to slip on his jacket as he walked away, he heard Shelley scream back at him through the door. "Oh, so now you care about them? What kind of man are you?" Johnny could hear Shelley screaming at him all the way to the elevator.

Johnny seemed to be in a daze the rest of the day, he knew there was only one place for him to go, but he wasn't in a hurry to get there. As Johnny walked along the streets of Gotham his mind kept racing back to that night at the docks. How working with the Joker was the best paying gig he had ever had; not to mention the most dangerous.

Johnny have stopped at three different coffee shops on his way to the hideout, he only bought a doughnut at the last one; he didn't like being too aware of what was going on around him at the hideout. The Joker had made some pretty violent friends, and the hideout was like their den of evil, where the Joker let them all indulge in their twisted habits and ideas.

Johnny was pulled out of his daze when a low voice asked him, "Whose there?" Johnny was at the entrance to the hideout. "Orange." Johnny said. Johnny returned into his daze, letting his mind race to Shelley. He walked down the familiar corridors as he wondered how his kids were, and whether or not they really did hate him like Shelley said. The doors of the elevator swung open, and standing there waiting for him was the Joker.

"Johnny Johnny! Did you get that little errand done?" Johnny removed his sunglasses and placed them in his pocket. "Sure did boss, first thing I did after I left." A smile came over Joker's face that sent a shiver through Johnny's body. "Praise Johnny!" The Joker shouted as he threw his hands in the air as a preacher would during mass. The Joker then threw one of his hands around Johnny and began leading him back to his quarters. As they walked the Joker seemed to be mumbling to himself, but Johnny was too lost in his own thoughts of Shelley and the kids to worry about it.

Upon entering the room Johnny sat down in the first chair that he came by, which was at the right side of a small table which had two more empty chairs. "Ok Johnny Johnny, now that you've swapped the house plans we can go into the 'Action' phase of my grand evil scheme." Joker said as he rubbed his hands together in a sinister fashion, watching Johnny with squinted eyes as he did. Johnny however took no notice of the Joker, and responded only with, "Uh huh." Joker released his hands and began to stare at Johnny with a look of almost utter contempt. Joker then removed a fairly large magnum revolver from his jacket pocket and shot two loud shots into the table in front of Johnny.

Johnny jumped back in his chair as both he and the chair fell over backwards. Joker then walked over and stood over Johnny Frost. "Now then Johnny, you've had a whole four days to deal with whatever you had to; so what seems to have you so distracted that you can't pay attention to the battle plan?" Joker said in a shallow voice, almost growling at Johnny as his gun was pointed directly at Johnny's face. "Sorry boss," Johnny said in the calmest voice he could muster, his eyes never wavering off the barrel of the gun. "I got some girl problems." Joker raised his gun to his head and began scratching his temple with it. "Oh I can get that Johnny Johnny. Girls always got me distracted. BUT!" Joker added quickly as he pointed the gun back at Johnny. "You gotta keep in your pants when you come to work. It's unprofessional." Joke said as he leaned over so the barrel of the gun was placed directly on Johnny's forehead. The Joker quickly pulled the gun away and put his own face uncomfortably close to Johnny, who had never been this close to the clown before. His eye's were large and bloodshot, Johnny could smell several different kinds of liquor on him, but wasn't sure if it was coming from his mouth or from his clothes. Joker had a wide smile on his face, and his teeth were stained yellow. "But the way you fell over just made my day Johnny Johnny. So I'll forgive you."

The Joker stood up and pocketed the magnum back in his jacket. "Now," Joker began as Johnny lifted himself off the ground and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "In the next part of the plan," Suddenly there was a voice that came chiming in through Joker's security walkie-talkie. "Boss, someone just busted through the main door! Everyone's down. I don't know what it is…it's some kind of blu-" then suddenly the walkie-talkie went silent. Joker rushed over to the counter and grabbed the device and began shouting into it. "Some kind of what? What was it? Anyone upstairs still alive?" Johnny rubbed his neck as he walked up to the Joker, who turned on a computer screen which had a view into the elevator. For several moments Joker and Johnny watched intently. "How did Batman find us?" Johnny asked, the Joker didn't respond but continued to watch the screen. Suddenly a man entered the elevator; he wore a black leather jacket and had long jet black hair. "That's no Batman." Joker said as a smile brimmed over his face. The man in the elevator turned around, revealing a face with defined features and a scruffy beard; the man's eyes were hidden under his hair. "I know him." Joker said in an almost whispered gasp. Johnny looked at the Joker, who had a look of utter confusion on his face. "How do I know him?" Joker said to himself as he stared at the screen.

The man in elevator looked up and saw apparently saw the camera, as he reached up with his fist and smashed it. "How did he find it?" Johnny said in amazement. "I hid that camera myself; no way could he have found it." Johnny looked from the screen which now showed only static, to the face of the Joker, who was smiling brightly. "Doesn't matter Johnny, I've prepared for just this kind of home invasion." The Joker then reached under the table and pulled up a small controller that he had stapled to the bottom of the table. The controller was very shabby looking and had obviously been rigged up by one of the goons or the Joker personally; Johnny still wasn't sure exactly how the Joker got his hands on all this stuff. The Joker pulled on a small switch and within moments Johnny heard a loud crash come from down the corridor as the whole ground seemed to shake beneath his feet.

"That takes care of that." Joker said as he put the controller down on the table and picked up the walkie-talkie. "Attention kids. We've had an accident with elevator control and an unwelcome visitor has been turned into shishkabab." The Joker turned to Johnny giggling to him for a moment before continuing. "Pack up your things kids! It's time we moved to our new home." Joker put down the walkie-talkie and turned to Johnny with a sigh. "Don't you hate it when you can't even feel safe in your own home?" Joker said with an almost mock sadness. "Don't worry though; our new place has the best view of" "Boss! Whoever it is they're not dead! It's taking them apart." The walkie-talkie cut in again and the Joker spun around with a look of mixed anger and agitation. "Jesus what are you?" Were the last words Joker heard from his men before static filled the air. Joker grabbed hold of the walkie-talkie and began shouting into it. "Everyone fall back to my hallway. Bring the big guns boys." Joker tossed the walkie-talkie onto his bed; then pulled out the magnum from his jacket and a second one which was tucked in the back of his belt and handed it to Johnny. Johnny reached out and grabbed hold of the grip of the weapon. As Johnny took it and cocked it back, Joker walked by him and towards the door, slamming it against the wall as he opened it.

Johnny walked into the hallway behind Joker and saw that a dozen men had already gathered, most of them had anti-tank guns military issue assault guns. Johnny felt pretty safe at the moment to say the least; but the Joker was furious. "Twelve? That's all? Where is everyone else?" Joker screamed to his men. "No one is answering; I think it got them all boss." Joker let out a vicious growl, "Lock the door." He said as he stormed back into his room and came back out seconds later screaming into his walkie-talkie. "Are you listening? Whoever you are you're dead. Hear me? I'm going to cut into you like a thanksgiving dinner, and send you to the homeless shelter. I do believe in charity after all." Joker's anger was suddenly harness into a laugh that rang through the hallway. Johnny looked around as he locked the door the rest of the base; he looked over at the water pipes that ran along the walls, and the large power-cord that ran from one end of the ceiling into the Joker's room.

Suddenly there was a large pounding on the door. Johnny almost fell backwards as whatever had just hit the door left an indent in solid steel. "What the hell?" Johnny said as he drew his gun and pointed it at the door. A second pound hit the door as the hinges of the lock and the door began to bend. Johnny moved to the side of the hallway as a third pound his the door and it came flying off of its hinges, flying down the hall and hitting two of the goons as it went as everyone else moved as quickly as they could out of its way. Johnny stood up and when he went to look at where the door once stood, before him was the man from the elevator. His jacket and pants were now torn and appeared to be scorched from fire, yet his hair was not burnt at all. Johnny went to point his gun at the man, but before he could pull the trigger the man slapped the gun from his hand. Johnny felt an incredible amount of pain in his hand as he threw a punch at the man's torso with his good hand. As soon as his punch connected it was as if every knuckle in his hand shattered. Johnny screamed in pain as the man reached up and with one powerful push sent Johnny flying across the hallway, landing at the feet of the Joker, who stood there captivated by what he was seeing.

Johnny pulled himself to his feet as the Jokers men began to open fire. Bullets rained down on the man, but they were all bouncing off of his and ricocheting all around. Several water mains were busted open by stray bullets and the hallway began to fill slowly with water. After what seemed like forever, the men had emptied their clips of ammunition on the man, but he still stood. For a single moment everyone seemed utterly baffled by what they had just witnessed. Johnny turned to look at the Joker and saw that he was no longer confused, no longer bedazzled by what was going on…he was smiling. Johnny turned back to the attacker, he saw a blur of black zoom down the hallway, kicking up water and tossing aside goons as it went. In what couldn't have been more than three seconds the man stood before Johnny and Joker, as all of the goons lay on the floor. Joker pulled a knife quickly from his belt and shoved it into Kals stomach; the blade snapped as soon as is made contact with his skin. The man grabbed hold of both of their collars and with a quick tug he sent them both flying back down the hallway, Johnny landed on the platform in front of the door and Joker fell into a shin deep puddle of water at the foot of the platform.

Johnny writhed in pain on the small platform as Joker lifted himself from the water and threw himself onto the platform beside Johnny, as water continued to rain down on Kal and the remaining goons that were still trying to put up a fight to him. Joker reached over and picked up the magnum that had been swatted away from Johnny earlier and took three shots at the power-cord that stretched along the top of the corridor. The first shot cut the cord, the second missed and the third one shot out one of the supports that held up the cord and it fell into the water, electrocuting the man and anyone unlucky enough to have been left in the water. Johnny pulled Joker back through the mangled doorway as Joker laughed at the top of his lungs. Joker pushed Johnny back and danced back into the hallway, doing a river dance on the platform Johnny had landed on.

Suddenly the Joker stopped dancing and laughing, dropping his arms to his side and letting his chin fall in utter disbelief as the man was still standing, screaming as he pushed his way down the corridor through the electrified water. The Joker laughed disbelievingly to himself, "I don't know who's more shocked right now…you or me." He said as he laughed to himself some more. The Joker shook his head, seemingly trying to pull himself together. He reached down to the top of the platform and began to pull furiously at the metal grate. To Johnny's surprise the grate came off and Joker tossed it to the side. The Joker then reached in and began to pull out a duffel bag that was almost as big as he was. Joker opened it quickly and tossed a pair of sound-insulating earmuffs to Johnny, who put them on as quickly as he could with his injured hands. Joker put on his own earmuffs and then pulled a bazooka out of the duffel bag. As Johnny struggled with his earmuffs he heard the Joker say, "I was saving you for Gordon's house…but desperate times." Johnny rushed to get his earmuffs on as Joker armed the Bazooka. The man continued to push his way through the water, still yelling out in pain as he was electrified continuously.

Johnny got his earmuffs fastened securely around his ears as the Joker finished arming the bazooka. Joker rested the weapon on his shoulder and fired. The RPG flew through the air and collided with Kal, exploding upon impact, leaving a very large plume of smoke. Joker removed his earmuffs with a smug smile on his face and tossed the bazooka to the ground behind him. "Let's see him stand after that." Joker said as he began to laugh hysterically. Grabbing Johnny by the arm and lifting him to his feet, the Joker wrapped one arm around Johnny as he held him up beside him. "We make quite the team Johnny. But it just goes to show you; you make someone bullet proof, and it won't be long til someone make's a bigger bullet." The Joker began to laugh again, but looking up he realized that Johnny still had his earmuffs on and looked like he was still in shock from what he had seen. Joker roughly tossed the earmuffs from Johnny's head. "We got him Johnny Johnny." Joker said with a mock sigh. As Joker looked up he saw that Johnny was shaking his head in disagreement. Joker looked up and could see through the thinning smoke the outline of the man, shifting in the rubble. Joker began to grind his teeth in frustration, but then quickly grabbed Johnny by the collar, "Let's go. Move!" Joker said as he pushed Johnny back and they made their way to the staircase and made their exit before anyone else showed up.

S

Kal gasped for air as he shifted the rubble off of him. He now lay on a heap of metal, rock and concrete, which protected him from the electrified water. Kal reached up to his chest where the rocket had hit him. He felt more pain than he had ever felt in his life. He could barely breathe and his entire chest felt as though someone had ran over it with a tractor. As Kals hand rested on his chest, he felt the cold smooth surface of his crystal. He grabbed a hold of his chest and squeezed it in his hand and he gasped for air.

Kal's mind races back to the farm. Martha stands behind Clark with her hands on his shoulders as Jonathan guides them through the barn. He stops at a seemingly random place and kneels over and puts his hand on the floor. With several wide brushes, Jonathan uses his hand to sweep the hay away, revealing a hidden cellar door. Jonathan reaches into a grove in the wood and grabs hold of the metal handle and lifts the door, revealing the cellar which had been hidden from Clark his entire life.

Jonathan lit a match and used it to light up the lantern which rested on its perch, then began to lead Clark and Martha down into the cellar. As Clark followed his father into the illuminated cellar, he was surprised to see that most of the space was filled with a blanket which seemed to be covering something. Jonathan and Martha took a long look at each other, then Jonathan spoke. "Clark…I know this is going to be hard for you to understand…but I'm not your real father." Jonathan took a moment to let the information sink in, but Clark had figured that much out by himself. Jonathan then grabbed hold of the blanket and pulled it away, revealing a giant silver craft, clad with what appeared to be mirrors. "Sixteen years ago your mother and I were driving home from the Ross's when the famous meteor shower took place…what we never told you, was that we found this…thing afterwards. And you were inside of it."

Kal took another gasp of air as he shifted more rubble off of him. The pain he felt in his chest was excruciating, and he didn't want to remember, the memories hurt worse than anything.

Clark reached out and touched one of the reflective mirrors on the ship and suddenly the mirror pushed up and revealed a hidden compartment. Clark was taken back at first, but then he felt compelled to reach inside. Clark reached in as Martha shouted, "Don't!" When Clark pulled his hand out, he had a diamond shaped crystal in his hands with what looked like an S inscribed into it. Then suddenly a light emerged from the craft. They all covered their eyes from the light, and when they looked up the image of a tall man, clad in white robes with the same symbol on his chest, with long jet black hair and a black beard with silver chin. Clark stood in awe as he gazed into the man's eyes…he had the same bright blue eye's as him. "Father?" Clark whispered…

_No!_ Kal said to himself as he took another gasp of air. Pulling himself together he lifted himself off of the ground and rested himself against a nearby wall. Kal began to take deep breathe; taking in as much oxygen as he could with each breathe. Soon his breathing began to steady, and the throbbing pain in his chest began to lessen.

"Can't believe how badly I screwed up." Kal said to himself as he looked down at the crystal that dangled around his neck. He took it in his hands and wiped off some dirt that had gotten stuck in its groves, but other than that it was untarnished… "Just like me?" Kal thought. "Way to go Kal, the bad guy got away, and he killed anyone I could have questioned." Kal thought as he looked around at the dead bodies that had been electrocuted to death or killed by the force of the explosion. "Just great." Kal took one leap and landed on the platform on the other side of the hallway. "If I'm lucky maybe I can still catch up with them." With that Kal sped off to the destroyed elevator shaft, and with one leap was back at the bottom of the building and into the Gotham streets.


	7. Heroes Have The Right to Dream

Chapter 7:

Kal stumbled back into the abandoned Wayne House. His jacket and shirt were torn, barely hanging off of him. He felt weak, like the weight of the world was on his eyelids. He wanted nothing more than to collapse onto his mattress and go to sleep. Kal sat down on his bench and reached out for his pillow before stretching out on the bench and making himself as comfortable as possible. Before Kal knew it he was drifting off to sleep.

The Kent family all covered their eyes from the light that spewed from the alien craft, and when they looked up the image of a tall man, clad in white robes with the S symbol on his chest, with long jet black hair and a black beard with silver chin. Clark stood in awe as he gazed into the man's eyes…he had the same bright blue eye's as him. "Father?" Clark whispered…

The figure in front of him seemed to phase out momentarily. He seemed to turn his gaze and look directly at Clark. "Kal-El." He spoke, his words were fuzzy, and Clark had trouble making out what he was saying. "You…son of Krytpon… only son…impending invasion…Zod…destroy…planet…" Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. From what the image was saying it filled Clark's mind with images of doom, Clark didn't want to believe what he was hearing…was he sent here to be Earth destroyer?

"NO!" Clark screamed as he stuck at the image of his true Father. Clark's fist went right through the image and hit the craft itself, knocking several of the small glass fragments of the ship onto the ground, but they did not shatter like regular glass. They simply bounced off the ground and rolled into the walls of the cellar. Clark turned around and rushed out of the cellar as fast as he could and ran inside. He could hear his parents…Martha and Jonathan… screaming after him…chasing him.

Clark burst into the kitchen of the family house. He could feel his heart pounding, and his eyes were burning with the tears he was trying to hold back. He didn't want to be Kal-El from Krypton. He wanted nothing to do with an invasion or the destruction of any planet. He just wanted to be Clark Kent.

Martha and Jonathan came in soon after. "Clark!" Martha called out. The grief in her voice mirrored what Clark was feeling. Marthas arms wrapped tight around Clark as he let the tears begin to stream out of him. "I don't want this. I don't want to be this anymore Ma." Clark could hear his mother sobbing with him. "I just want to be normal." Clark held his adopted mother by her shoulders and gently pressed her away from him.

"Why would you two wait so long to show me that? Why would you have ever shown me that?" Clark's voice rose in anger as he let go of his mother and began to stare his adopted father in the face. "Clark, I" "Do you think I want to be a destroyer? Did you think I would happy to know the truth that you've been hiding?" Jonathan's face became contorted with a mix of confusion and sadness. "Clark, I only wanted to show you the ship…I've never seen it do that before." Clark rolled his eyes. "I'm not even Clark…I'm Kal-El." Clark said with an air of arrogance to Jonathan. Martha was tearing up as Jonathan reached out to Clark.

"I don't care what that thing said to you…you're my son! You're Clark Kent!" Jonathan grabbed a hold of both of his shoulders, but Clark didn't want to be touched. "Let go!" He screamed, giving his adopted father a gentle push. Jonathan flew across the kitchen table and into the china cabinet. Jonathan fell to the floor as fine china shattered all around him. The cabinets legs buckled and it began to topple over onto of Jonathan.

Clark moved as fast as he had run when he had accidentally hurt Whitney and caught the cabinet before it landed on his adopted Father. Clark pulled Jonathan up in his arms; he was bleeding from a wound on his head and he was unconscious. Clark looked up to Martha and saw a look on her face of utmost terror. Clark's heart sank as he became locked in that moment. With the woman who raised and loved him too afraid to help her husband because of what her son did…of what her son is.

Clarks' eyes shut closed as tears began to stream out of them. He lifted his father into his arms and began to run with him as fast as he could. As Clark ran he felt the same sensation he had felt when he had run away from Lana, like the whole world was slowing down around him. As Clark ran he opened his eyes, as he did several tear drops fell from his face and remained suspended in the air. Clark was baffled for a moment as the tear lingered in the air, refusing to fall to the ground.

"Hey you!" Clark heard someone yell as the tear fell to the ground. Clark turned around to see that he stood in front of Smallville Hospital.

Before long Clark was waiting on a chair in a bright room. He looked down to his hands where his fathers' blood still covered them. Several of the staff had recommended Clark to wash himself off, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to listen to them. All he could think about was his mother, and that look she had given him…all he could hear was the steady sound of his fathers' heartbeat. He tried to tune it out, but the harder he tried the louder it would pound in his skull.

"Mrs. Kent has just arrived. Find the boy for me." Clark heard the doctor say to the nurse two floors below him through the pounding in his skull. Clark rose from his seat in fear; he looked around the hospital desperately for a moment, unsure of what to do. Suddenly he had only one instinct. He turned on his spot and ran.

He ran down the stairs and out the back entrance of the hospital. He ran past Smallville High, where he had just graduated from not two week ago. He ran past Pete Ross's house, where he could hear the sounds of Pete and his brother playing basketball. He ran faster and faster, away from his adopted parents, away from the truth they had revealed to him. He did not ever want to be the person he was sent here to be, and the only way to make sure he didn't hurt the people he cared about was to leave them behind…

Kal shifted on the bench; lost in his mind, as the hours of the night rolled away for him… But not for others…

S

Gordon worked away feverishly at his desk. He looked to his wrist watch; it was already 11:30 PM. Gordon rubbed his nose where his glasses would rest; another night he missed with his kids…with Barbra's kids. Jim looked to a picture on his desk of his wife…Jim lifted the photo by it's frame and gazed longingly at her face…and her long brown hair, soft brown eyes. Gordon quickly wiped a tear away as it formed under his eye. He turned back to the personnel files on everybody who was working communications the night Joker made his call. Gordon had been looking into it for days, and had figured out that someone had logged in under a trainee badge and took the Jokers call from a private number…someone was working for Joker on the inside.

Just then Detective Harvey Bullock knocked gently on Gordon's door before entering. "Hey Commish, I've got something for you." Bullock was a large man. Standing 6'2 and in relatively good shape, he had short brown hair with rough facial features and dark brown eyes. Gordon had suspected him to be the Batman for a while based on his anti-vigilante outlook, and his constant disappearing acts; but ruled him out after discovering Bullock was working with I.A. to take down the old Commissioner…not to mention seeing both Bullock and Batman at the same time.

"What is it Bullock? I'm not paying you for social calls." Gordon said, pointing his pen at Bullock and motioning his to sit down. "Heh, if I made social calls Gordon you wouldn't be able to afford it…I know I couldn't afford me on my salary." Bullock grinned as Gordon seemed to ease up a bit. Bullock had always been good at reading people, and could tell Gordon seemed stressed out. "I just got back from the disturbance call we got from the Dog Patch. It was him…" Bullock watched as Gordon dropped what he was doing and gave Bullock his undivided attention. "I questioned around a little bit, a few people admit to having seen the Clown, but no one would give an official statement…which is not surprising though." Gordon rose form his chair. "What did you find?" Gordon said in a rushed and half irritated tone.

"We have over forty of the Jokers men in custody; almost half of them are alive." Gordon's face became furiously red. "What did you do Bullock?" Bullock put his hands out in front of him as he began to defend himself. "It wasn't me Boss. Most of the goons we found throughout the shelter were OK, but we found one hallway that looked like it had been a war zone at some point. Gordon there was at least eighteen bodies strewn around that hallway. Once we get the autopsy reports we'll know exactly what killed them..." Gordon leaned forward on his desk as he began to take in what Bullock was telling him. "Commish, who ever did this was going after the Joker. I think it's safe to say Batman was somehow involved…"

"That's not Batman's M.O. Bullock." Gordon began. "He lets me know when he's been to a crime scene that my men are working on…and he doesn't leave dead bodies in his wake." Bullock reached into his pocket and pulled out an evidence bag with several small metal bits in it. Gordon tossed Bullock an inquisitive glance before opening the bag and removing the small metal bits. As Gordon pulled the bits out he was amazed by what they were; and the fact that this was the second time in a week he had seen something like this. "Those are a hand full of bullets we found around the scene. Each one is a different caliber of bullet fired from a varying range of weapons. Each one of those bullets is crushed flat on its nose…I didn't see anything down there strong enough to do this to a round fired from an M14." Gordon examined the bullets, and remembered the feel of the shotgun shells he had found by the dock... there was more to this than Gordon knew.

"Was there any sign of the Joker?" Bullock ran his hand through his hair. "No…but there were defiantly signs that he had been there." At that point Bullock threw a picture onto Gordon's desk; it was a picture of The Joker, bound in a straight jacket with his therapist sitting on his lap giving him a kiss on the cheek. Gordon looked up at Bullock with a look of pure seriousness. "I want someone watching her around the clock. I want to know everything she does, everywhere she goes, everyone she sees…understood?" Bullock gave Gordon a slight grin. "You got it Commish. I'll put Montoya and Drake on it. I want to back to the Jokers old hideout to see what else I can find."

As Bullock turned to leave the office, Gordon called out to him "Hey Bullock, one more thing." Bullock turned around again and faced Gordon. "What do you think of Honest Ed?" The image of a skinny man with a long nose came into Bullocks mind. "Honest Eddy? I was investigating him while I was doing some digging on Loeb last year. I was positive he was taking money from Loeb, but I could never prove it." Gordon was looking at the files he had been glancing at before Bullock had entered the room. "I'm sure he's still into something on the side, no one can afford suits that nice on a Detective salary…" Gordon glanced up to Harvey for a moment, then back down to his files. "Thanks Harvey, that's all." Bullock turned around, happily knowing that 'Honest Ed' was finally about to pay the due for constantly speaking in riddles…

Gordon sat back in his chair with the bag of flattened bullets still lying on his desk. Gordon shifted his chair from side to side as he decided that maybe talking to the Batman about this wouldn't be such a bad idea. Gordon pushed a button on his intercom. "Sheryl, could you please hold my calls for the next little while." "Yes Sir Commissioner." "And Sheryl…call in Detective Nygma… tell him I'd like to have a word with him."

S

Bruce lept from his mothers grasp and lunged ahead, pretending to stab the evil doers in his parents' way. "None can match the skills of Zorro!" Bruce shouted as he made the killing blow to his invisible opponent. Thomas Wayne applauded his sons' bravery as Martha Wayne gave her hero his much earned kiss on the cheek.

Bruce walked, hand in hand with his parents as they made their way down the alleyway to where Thomas had parked his car. Thomas reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys and began to search for the one for his car as Martha arranged the hat on Bruce's head; which was filled with images from the film he had just seen; The Mark of Zorro.

Suddenly Bruce felt his mothers hands tighten around his chest. "Thomas!" She called out. Bruce looked up to see the shadow visage of a man emerging from the shadow, and Bruce's eyes focused on the shining magnum revolver he held in his hand…just like the one the villain from Zorro had used.

"Give me all your money, and anything valuable. Now!" The man's hand trembled as he cocked the gun back. Thomas looked from his wife, then down to his son, then back to the robber. "I'm going to take out my wallet and give it to you, okay?" The robber nodded his head furiously. Thomas removed his wallet from his jacket very slowly. After he did he began walking up to the robber, offering his wallet to him at arms length.

As Bruce watched his father surrender to the robber he glanced around; he did not hear the chimes of a church bell to call for Zorro, he did not hear the echoes of police sirens; and Bruce wondered how the Heroes would know they need them, how were they going to save them.

"How about you lady; what's in the purse?" The robber pointed his gun towards Martha, and when he did Thomas threw himself between the robber and his wife. Bruce felt his entire head shake as his father fell to the ground in front of him; blood spewing from his chest. Suddenly the shaking in Bruce's head was replaced by the high pitched scream of his mother, as she pulled Bruce behind her and pushed him to the ground. Then a second shot was fired, and Bruce watched as his mothers' pearls, covered in her blood, fell to the ground and rolled in all directions.

Bruce looked from his mother, to his father, to the man hidden in the shadows. Bruce's eyes focused on the magnum, blue steel reflecting moonlight, smoke still billowing out of the barrel.

"No!" Bruce almost lept out of bed. His heart was pounding, sweat covered every inch of his body. Bruce tried to push the image out of his mind as he rolled over in his bed, placing a pillow on top of his head to help bury the images. Bruce tried to calm his breathing using meditative techniques he had learned; but it didn't work. He couldn't push the sounds from his mind…he couldn't fight it, not any longer.

Bruce rose from his bed and looked at the clock as the minute hand struck five past midnight; he grabbed his night robe and wrapped it quickly around himself. He had to get to the Cave, he had to go out; tonight! As Bruce made it way to the stairs he heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Bruce turned to see Dick Grayson standing in his bedroom door-frame.

"Are you okay Bruce?" Dick asked, concern evident in his tired voice. "I heard someone shouting. Was that you?" Bruce looked at the young boy, and couldn't help but remember that small boy from his dream. Bruce took a deep breathe before he walked over to Dicks room. "I'm okay. Just had a bad dream, nothing to worry about." "Oh," Dick responded, "You can sleep in my bed if you want, just don't snore." Dick turned around, leaving his door slightly ajar so that Bruce could come in. Bruce couldn't help but laugh slightly to himself. "Thanks Dick, but I'm just going to go get some work done. You go back to bed." "Okay." Bruce heard Dick whisper back through the darkness. "And thanks for taking Barbra, James and I to the Water Park…best afternoon…ever." Dick released a small snort before drifting off back to sleep.

Bruce began walking down the stairs to the cave; but something was different. He no longer had the need to go out into the night and make someone pay…he had better things to do with his time.

Before long Bruce was in the Bat-cave, toiling away over his chemistry set to prepare enough anti-toxin to Jokers poison to inoculate over 1,500 people. Hours seemed to roll by as Bruce worked away, he knew that Lucius Fox; CEO of Wayne Industries, would be able to mass produce the anti-toxin, but Gordon had to be the one to make that call.

Bruce knew that Gordon had been investigating him, trying to find out if he was The Batman; and he wanted to make sure he gave him as little reason as possible to suspect him any further.

"Master Bruce? How long have you been awake?" Alfred said as he approached with one of Bruce's expensive suits. "Since midnight. I've finally finished with the anti-toxin. I'm going to take a batch to Lucius in the morning just in case it has to be mass produced in the near future." "It is morning Sir…Eight hours into it I'm afraid." Bruce looked back to Alfred, a grin perched on his face. "I guess I should get going then. Would you mind calling Lucius and telling him I'm on my way?" Bruce plucked up several vials of the anti-toxin, then walked by Alfred, grabbing the suit from his hands. "Are you not planning on fixing the elevator today Sir?" Alfred called out, annoyance bounding in his voice. "Not today, when I get back we're taking Dick to the Zoo." Bruce said as he walked away, putting on his suit as he did.

Alfred smiled to himself as Bruce walked down the dark corridor, as he realized this was the first time he had seen Bruce walk away in the cave in a suit that didn't have a cape and horns as accessories.

S

Bruce sped down the Gotham highway in his brand new Lotus Esprit Turbo. It was a brand new silver sports car which had been engineered from Italy. As Bruce drove he heard the loud smash of metal on metal. Looking over Bruce saw that a big rig had apparently lost control and had smashed into a second big rig right beside of it. The out of control truck push the second one up against Bruce's car and his car began to get tipped over onto its side. Suddenly the out of control rig seemed to regain itself and pulled away from the second rig, but as it did its rear end clipped the second rig once more, giving it enough push to smash into the railing; and sending Bruce's car flying off the bridge, and into the murky Gotham Bay water below.


	8. Savior

Chapter 8:

Bruce could feel his legs resting in the water as Dick and Barbara raced each other to the water slide. Bruce smiled as he watched Barbra pull in front of Dick and beat him to the line, turning around with a mischievous grin as if telling Dick that he never had a chance.

Bruce looked down to his feet and wiggled his toes around in the water, yet as he did his toes did not feel like they were swimming freely in a pool. Suddenly the sky seemed to dim as Bruce looked back up to where Dick had been. Bruce's heart skipped as he noticed that everyone had seemingly disappeared.

Panic flew through Bruce like a rocket as he rose from his spot and began to run around frantically, calling out for Dick and Barbra as he went. Bruce noticed his surroundings change to a dark alleyway. Bruce could see the cold on his breath and felt a sudden shiver go through him. Bruce reached up and began to dry off his body, which seemed to be getting wetter as he ran.

Bruce could feel the cold becoming more intense as he collapsed to his knees, shaking uncontrollably to regain body heat. Then, Bruce heard what sounded like a distant shriek; it started as a buzz, but then grew slowly until it became impossible to ignore. Bruce lifted himself up and began to move towards the sound, but as he did it seemed to fade away.

Bruce turned around a corned and there, standing under an oddly placed streetlight was young Barbra Gordon, wearing the same snow suit she was wearing the night her mother had died, and facing away from Bruce… "Barbra?" Bruce called out, as he took several steps closer to her, and as he reached out to touch her shoulder, Barbra spun around, her eyes pitch white; she opened up her mouth and the sound of the shriek came roaring through the small girl, more overpowering than it had been last time. Bruce reached up to cover his ears, but it was as if the sound were coming from inside his head. Bruce shut his eyes as he gripped at his ears.

S

Bruce looked up to see if he could see Barbra, but as he opened his eyes all he could see was a gray blur. Bruce lifted his head with great burden, feeling as if he had been kicked in the head several times. Bruce could hear the sound of steadily rushing water. "Think Wayne…" There was a pain in his side…broken rib. His vision was blurry from mild concussion, and he could feel a steady stream of blood flowing across his brow.

Suddenly Bruce felt water splash him in the face, causing him to accidentally inhale some. Bruce coughed the water back up and raised his hands up to his chest. He could feel the seat belt he had been wearing…he was driving to Wayne Tower, and then…Bruce's mind raced quickly through the events that had transpired on the bridge. Bruce shook his head in the water to invigorate himself and then began to take in his surroundings.

Bruce looked out the window; he was already completely submerged. The passenger side had been completely demolished and was leaking in a lot of water. Bruce reached down and pushed the release button for his seat belt. As Bruce removed the seatbelt he noticed that he had broken at least one rib. Bruce began to panic when he reached for to open the door and it would not budge. The door looked to have been damaged when the Rig had run Bruce's car into the guard rail, mangling it enough to prevent Bruce from escaping.

Bruce was having trouble keeping his head underwater. His only way out would have been the windshield, but Bruce had his windows replaced with shatterproof glass…and without something to break it with Bruce would only do more damage to himself.

Bruce began to laugh to himself as he struggled to keep his nose and mouth in the only tiny air pocket that remained. "I've been shot at; stabbed, electrocuted, poisoned, and survived countless explosions and brawls where I was outnumbered with no way out…and this is how it ends?"

Suddenly Bruce heard a strange sound through the water which encircled almost every inch of his body. There was another loud crunching noise as Bruce lost his air pocket and felt the water begin to push him out of the drivers' side door. Bruce braced himself for the worst, but then he suddenly felt a strong hand grip around his forearm. Bruce looked up but could only see a dark, hazy silhouette in the murky water.

The stranger pulled Bruce close, and then Bruce felt himself being propelled through the water faster than he had ever gone before. Bruce struggled to keep the water from forcing its way down his lounges…

S

Kals face broke the water as his feet kicked with enough force to propel him towards the shore. Kal pulled himself and then man he had just saved from the water, carrying the man in his arms. Kal lay him down on the ground and put his head to the mans chest. He was still alive, but not breathing.

Kal placed his hand on the mans chest, and with a light push was able to get the water out of the mans lounges. The man coughed as he took in the fresh air. As he moved around Kal saw a small vial drop out of his pocket. Kal knelt down and picked up the small vial of yellow liquid.

This wasn't the first person Kal had seen who had a lot of money and a taste for illegal drugs. Kal looked over to the man as he wiped his brown hair out of his face, and was shocked to see the face he had seen so many times in the various newspapers scattered around his hideout. There lay Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy...Kal couldn't let him see his face, this was the kind of story that would end up on the front page.

Kal turned around to the sound of a few onlookers shouting to see if anyone was hurt. Kal shouted to them that Bruce Wayne was on the shore and then sped away up highway.

S

The doors of the Gotham Times bullpen elevator swung open and an infuriated Vicki Vale came storming out with a large travel bag over her shoulder, Perry White following carefully behind her as if she were planting land mines as she went.

"I can't believe you know that man outside of a work relationship Perry. He's psychotic!" Vicki tore into Perry as she tossed her travel bag onto her desk, which was covered in memos from the editor.

"Schott was never that bad when I knew him!" Perry protested loudly. "Last time I saw him he had some issues, but I thought he was getting help."

"Well clearly you were wrong Perry!" Vicky said as she sat down in her chair and pulled out her notes from her trip. "I'm calling the MPD right now and telling them about him. I should have done it before we left. I mean, Jesus Perry what if he was responsible for the Queen boys disappearance?" As Perry went to rebuttle, he knew that there was no point. Winslow Schott was not the man he used to know, and it was better that the authorities be warned before he hurt someone.

"I'm heading to the highway, let me know what they plan on doing to him." Vicki was already dialing the numbers on her desk phone, she then watched as Perry walked away, sulking his head as he did.

As the phone rang in her ear Vicki suddenly realized how disturbed he was from seeing that man in the state he was in. Maybe Perry knew him better than Vicki thought he did...maybe they were friends once...

"Hello, Metropolis Police Department. How may I direct your call?" A male voice boomed through the earpiece of Vicki's phone. "Yes hello, I'd like to report a potentially dangerous person who is in your City." There was a brief pause before the voice responded. "Please hold."

Vicki heard several clicks, and then a soft female voice spoke to her from the other end. "This is Detective Essen, how may I help you?"

S

Alfred was making waffles for Dick when he got the call. He was unfortunately mixing a bowl of his chocolate oatmeal covering for the waffles when he was told the Bruce Wayne was in a car accident. Chocolate was all over the floor, covering the wall and even splattered all the way down to the pantry. A warm feeling of relief went through Alfred when they said he was not hurt.

Dick demanded to accompany Alfred to pick Bruce up at the hospital, and Alfred saw no point in arguing. Five minutes after the call they were out the door and in the car.

Bruce was sitting on a bench outside the hospital waiting for them. He was carrying his suit jacket over his shoulder; he had a bandage over his head like a headband and his eyes showed that he was lost in his own thoughts. Bruce had a nurse by his making sure that he did not fall onto his side. Alfred learned later that he had received a concussion from the accident.

Dick wrapped his arms around Bruce's waist, relieved that he was alright. Bruce lifted him up and began to walk towards Alfred, who was holding the back door of the car open for them. Bruce gave Alfred a look that Alfred had only seen on his face once before, he looked terrified, yet there was hope in his eyes. Alfred knew something had happened on the bridge. The Nurse approached and informed Alfred of Bruce's condition before departing.

Bruce spent the day at home with Dick. They played checkers, watched television, and then Bruce watched as Dick played a video-game about a sword wielding boy who was trapped in the past, trying to find his friends with his frog prince companion. Although Bruce watched, his mind was elsewhere.

It wasn't until late at night that Alfred had the chance to talk to Bruce. After Alfred had taken Dick to bed, he found Bruce in the cave, staring at the picture of the missing boy he had been tracking a week before...Clark Kent.

"You need to rest Master Bruce." Alfred said as he approached Bruce by his computer, but he did not respond. He remained staring at his computer screen.

"What happened to you out there? You've been...distracted since it happened." Bruce took a deep breath before he turned to face Alfred, that look of mixed emotion locked onto his face. "He...saved me Alfred." Alfred looked from Bruce to the picture of the young Clark Kent on the screen. "The semi on the side of me lost control, tossed me off of the bridge...I don't remember a lot of what happened after that, but I do remember opening my eyes and seeing that blur." Bruce lifted his hand to his head and reached out to the chair for balance.

"You should be resting Master Bruce." Alfred said as he took Bruce's arm and began to lead him away from the computer. "No, I can't." Bruce said as he pulled away from Alfred. "I have to talk with Gordon. See if there's any update on the Joker." Bruce said as he began to walk to the chamber where his uniform rested behind a glass door. "Master Bruce, you can not go out in your condition."

Bruce turned back to Alfred. "I've been putting this off for too long Alfred. I can't let what happened before affect how Gordon and I work together. He needs my help, and I need his." Alfred could see that Bruce was determined, and he knew that there was no point in arguing with him. "Please Master Bruce, be careful."

S

Gordon stood atop of the GMPD headquarters as the bat-light filled the night sky. The smoke from Gordons pipe billowed as he waited. It had been days since he had seen The Batman, and he had questions that needed to be answered.

"Think he'll show up tonight?" Detective Bullock was standing in the entrance to the building, watching Gordon as he puffed away on his pipe. "He will, once I'm alone." Bullock laughed to himself as he closed the door behind him, leaving Gordon alone.

"Thanks for getting rid of him." Gordon smiled to himself, tapping out the contents of his pipe as he turned around to see The Batman standing before him. "Think I hadn't noticed you only show up here when I'm alone?" As Gordon spoke Batman walked by him and placed his hand on the bat-signal. Gordon noticed that Batman seemed to swagger as he walked. "You okay?" Gordon said as he took a step back. "I'm fine." Batman said as he straighten up instantly.

Gordon watched Batman for a moment, something had happened to him... "We found the Joker's hideout...or do you already know what I'm about to tell you?" Batman turned to face Gordon, locking eyes with him. "Won't know until you tell me."

"It was a war-zone down there. Assault guns, bazooka shells, broken water main and damage to the structure of an apartment building. After Bullock went back to investigate further he found a stockpile of weapons...there were enough guns down there to arm every person in Gotham. And I'm talking heavy firepower...it looks like he was getting ready for a war."

The thought didn't sit well with Batman. The Joker with an arsenal like that, and he brought it into Gotham right under their noses...he didn't like it, and he knew Gordon felt the same. "Why would I have known any of this?" Batman asked, his low voice almost growling at Gordon.

Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag and tossed it to Batman, who caught it and examined it. Inside the bag were several small pellets that were flattened. "Shotgun bullets?" Batman asked.

"Ones that I recovered from the dock last week. We also found bullets of every caliber of gun found at the scene..." There was a long silence that filled the air as Gordon and Batman stared each other down. "Is there anything I should know?" Gordon asked, his suspicion being made obvious by the tone of his voice.

Batman thought about coming clean with Gordon right there, but how would he tell him? How do you tell someone that there's a super powered alien running around Gotham faster than the speed of sound pulling people from Gotham harbor...

"I'm working on it..." Batman turned away from Gordon and began to make his way to the edge. "Is that all I get?" Gordon called out as Batman approached the edge. "The Jokers plan was revealed and stopped in one night. Is that not enough for you Gordon?"

"It's enough when he rots behind bars!" Gordon screamed at Batman before he turned off the signal and then stormed off of the roof, slamming the door shut behind him.

Batman stood atop the building, contemplating what he had said. His head began to ring and he began to loose his balance. Bruce looked down to the ground which was floors beneath him. He wobbled for a moment before he fell backwards onto the ground.

Bruce took a deep breath as he stumbled up to his legs. His concussion was worse than he thought...it was time to head home.


	9. Paradigm

Chapter 9:

Lex sat at the desk in laboratory, staring intently at the computer screen which ran diagnostics on 'The Source'. There had been several more power shortages which seemed to be caused by it, but Lex couldn't find out if it was just generating some sort of feedback to cause it, or if it was, as much as Lex hated to think the idea, draining power...

Over the next few hours Lex used his existing prototypes and found an adequate way to inhibit the Source from taking anymore power, if it really was. These devices would also act as backup relays for the power in-case anymore power fluxes occurred from that section of the lab.

Soon Lex heard a low buzz echo through his room. He pressed a small red button on top of his desk and the metal door to his personal lab swing opon, and in came Dr. Franken. He was a short man with long stringy black hair. He looked as if he had not slept or showered in days, though going in and out of an air sealed lab required him to. His bright brown eyes were hidden behind glasses with large round circular lenses.

"Mr. Luthor." His voice was squeamish, and he spoke with a slight Russian accent. "We have completed the device, and I have ordered my team to ready it for a test display." A smile etched into Lexes face as he rose from his seat and walked towards Dr. Franken.

"Excellent news Doctor. How long will it take you to ready the machine?" Lex said as he stopped in front of Dr. Franken. "Given the time it will take to test its power levels, and configure the machine fully...no more than three days." Lex took a deep breathe...he needed to get his new invention in place. He could have nothing disrupting the Doctors work.

"Proceed Doctor. But if there are any power failures, even minor one I want them reported to me at once. Understood?" A confused look came over Dr. Frankens face, "I hope it's nothing that will interfere with my work Mr. Luthor..." Lex gave Dr. Franken a cross look as he bit his tongue at Dr. Frankens condescending tone. "If it does report it to me." Lex turned around quickly and went back to his desk without looking back up at Dr. Franken, who turned around and exited the large metal door he had entered from.

Lex could feel anger swelling within him as he looked over his designs. He hoped that they would work...Lex suddenly grabbed hold of his blueprints and began to tear them to pieces. "Hope isn't good enough." Lex thought to himself as he pulled up a fresh new blue print and tossed aside the old ones he had used for inspiration before. Nothing would influence this device. It would be perfect based on its own design.

S

Bruce Wayne awoke to the sun splashing across his face. He could feel his broken rib, and his head was still spinning. Bruce couldn't remember how he had gotten back from talking to Gordon. As Bruce picked himself up carefully from his bed he called out for Alfred, who came rushing in moments later.

"Ah, Master Bruce. You're finally up." Alfred said with a sigh of relief. "How long have I been out?" Bruce asked in a groggy voice. "No more than seven hours. When the car rolled into the cave and you were unconscious in the seat I feared the worse." Bruce tried to remember setting the car to autopilot, he tried to remember the sound of the engine as it must have lulled him off to sleep, but he didn't remember any of it. "I must have set it on autopilot before I fainted. Does Dick know?" Bruce had a scared look on his face, and his voice seemed to clear up as he spoke. "He thinks you are simply resting after a traumatic ordeal. He is watching the television in your study at the moment."

Bruce gave a confused look to Alfred. "What's he doing in there? There's an eighty two inch TV in the viewing room." A wide smile broke Alfreds face that warmed Bruce. "He thinks that it is the first place you will go when you awake, and he wishes to help you with your work..." Bruce laughed lightly to himself, gripping at his broken rib as he did. "Perhaps you should continue to rest Master Bruce." Alfred said as he approached and tried to settle Bruce back into bed.

Bruce quickly put his hand up to indicate Alfred to stop. "No, I think I will show Dick what I do at Wayne Industries. See if I can spark his interest in something." The concerned look on Alfreds face broke away as a bright smile replaced it.

"Very well Master Bruce. I shall fetch your slippers." Alfred turned on his spot and left Bruce to dress. As he did, Bruce's mind wandered back to what Gordon had told him on the roof...An armory that could outfit enough people to take over Gotham and the surrounding counties. Some sort of Master Plan that the Joker was going to set in motion put to an end before it started by Clark Kent...Bruce was sitting back down on the bed fully dressed in a loose fitting T-Shirt and pyjama pants, waiting for Alfred to return. Yet even when Alfred did return and give him his slippers he found it hard to take his mind off of Clark Kent, and the possibilities of what they could accomplish together...

S

The afternoon began to fade away into the setting sun as Edward Nygma rummaged through the desk of Harvey Bullock. Nygma stood a mere 5'9, with short brown hair and matching brown eyes which were covered by half moon spectacles. He was a stronger man than he appeared, though he was no as bulky as Bullock, he had learned several forms of martial arts during his time with the police, and had broken Detective Flass's nose on several occasions.

Nygma knew that Bullock and Gordon had been onto him, they had found something at the Jokers hideout, he knew it. Nygma tossed aside several credit card bills that showed Bullock was overdue on several payments. Nygma laughed to himself at the thought of not having enough to pay off your loans; Bullock was a bigger loser than Gordon was, if only he knew it.

Nygma shuffled through several more drawers stuffed with paper. Nothing there that he could use...plenty of notes about leads for The Batman that must have run dry, otherwise Bullock wouldn't have just left them around.

Suddenly the phone on Bullocks desk began to ring, startling Nygma as he snooped through Bullocks belongings. Detective Nygma began to beck into a corner, fearful of the voice that could be on the other side. Before he could answer it, the answering machine cut in, and Nygma could hear Bullocks recorded voice ring through the small office. "It's Bullocks office. I'm not here. Make it quick." A loud beep then echoed from the machine, only to be followed by the low voice of the madman who had wrapped Nygma around his finger. "Detective...I know your in there. If you were half as smart as you think you are you would close the blinds when you come into an office." The mans voice then broke into a spine chilling laugh, and Nygma lept from his place and quickly answered the phone.

"Are you out of your mind?" Nygma raged through the phone in a loud whisper. "No more than usual. Find what you're looking for?" Nygma turned around and looked out of the window, shutting the blinds once he had quickly scanned the are. "I found enough. What do you want?" Nygma was nervous; it was bad enough the Clown had him under his thumb, but now it was like he was trying to get him caught.

"I'm heading out of town for a while; business calls. I want you to swing by my place in the East End and bring me a few things before I go." Nygma leaned back on the desk, he could feel his face beginning to glow with heat; he liked it better when he didn't know who he was really working for.

"Yea, sure. What do you need?" He said in a defeated tone. Nygma could hear Joker laughing to himself on the other end of the phone. "Oh you'll know when you see it. Think shiny!" There was a click, and he was gone. Nygma quickly hung up the phone and then analyzed the desk to make sure it was exactly as it was when he entered.

S

It was late at night before Alfred had noticed that Bruce had not returned from tucking Dick into bed. Alfred was surprised how he had let the time go, but since Bruce had his accident he had fallen behind on his cleaning. Alfred searched in the study and in the bedroom, but when he did not find him in either of those placed he knew that there was only one other place he could be...

Bruce sat at his computer in the Batcave, his eyes glued to the picture of Clark Kent he had taken when he had rescued that girl from the muggers. The more Bruce began to mull over what he had done, the people he had saved...maybe he had been wrong before. Maybe this was the the perfect job for Clark Kent.

Footsteps soon filled the cave, alerting Bruce to Alfred's approach. Bruce went to switch the screen to something else, but he had to do something about this. He couldn't just wait for this to work itself out...he removed his finger from the screen and left the picture where it was.

"I thought we had agreed that you would be taking it easy in the coming days." Alfreds voice echoed through the cave as Bruce turned in his chair to face him. He watched as Alfreds gaze went past him and to the screen with the picture of Kent on it. Alfreds face suddenly went red as he looked at Bruce with a restrained fury.

"I thought we had also agreed that HE should be sent home!" Alfred said as he pointed to the picture, nearly shouting. "I tried that Alfred. He didn't go home; do you know what he did do?" Alfred stormed up the platform until he was face to face with Bruce. "He should have gone home!" Alfred wasn't doing well at restraining himself as he usually did. Bruce was shocked to him like this, but he continued as if Alfred had said nothing.

"He pulled me from that car Alfred. He tore the door off of its hinges and then swam with me in his arms fast enough to force water down my throat." Alfreds gaze never wavered, and neither did his anger. "And before that he single-handedly found the Jokers hideout, infiltrated it and took down Jokers operation before he even had a chance to cause any more mayhem in this city...he did what I dream of doing Alfred." Alfreds face seemed to relax and give way more to shock than anger.

Alfred took a deep breath as he locked eyes with Bruce. "I don't know what he is, or to what extend he's capable; but if he really is out trying to fight the good fight, then maybe I can help him." As Bruce continued, Alfred quickly interrupted him. "The best way to help him is to send him home to the people that love him, the people that miss him." Bruce turned from Alfred and took his seat before turning around to his computer again.

"I'm sorry Alfred, I've made up my mind. I'm going to find Clark Kent." Alfred walked away without saying a word. Bruce listened to his steps as he walked down the narrow corridor, and listened to them fade away as Alfred walked up the stairs. Bruce returned his attention to the picture of Clark Kent.

What if he wasn't the kind of person that he appeared to be? What if it was all an act? Bruce couldn't help but feeling slightly fearful about being a superpowered being into the cave, especially one who had been a reporter for his local newspaper. What if Kent was just trying to find out who The Batman was, and was using his abilities to get him a story? Bruce had to be sure about what he was doing, he couldn't make the mistake of letting someone in who would betray him...


	10. Smallville

Chapter 10:

It was a cold night in Smallville. Jonathan Kent was out in the barn tending to some hay. A bead of sweat began to fall from his brow as he lifted a hay-bell and moved it to its place on the tractor trailer he had hooked up to the back of the tractor. John loaded several more hay-bells on before he climbed atop of the tractor and turned it on. As John tried to move the tractor for the following morning he was surprised that the machine wasn't moving at all when he pushed his foot on the pedal.

John hit the gas again as he looked back to the tired, he noticed that the left tire was trying to move, but the right one seemed to be the one that was sticking. Jonathan rose from his place on the tractor and moved to the wheel that was having trouble; he reached his hand up and began feeling along the brake pad for something that would be causing this.

As Jonathan ran his finger through the brake pad, he felt a small lump about half way down, keeping the tire from turning. Jonathan gripped the small lump and began to pull at it. He was surprised at how well it was stuck in there, which was strange considering he had just taken the tractor out a few hours a go. John gripped hold even tighter and began to pull with all his might until the small lump came loose, causing Jonathans hand to smack against the hard metal case above the brake-pad.

Johnathan muffled his pain as he brought his hand out of the tractor. He rubbed his hand as he brought it out, but after a few moments his curiosity outweighed his pain, and he opened his hand to reveal a small black rubber ball. Johnathan looked at it for a moment, wondering how in Gods name this small ball had gotten wedged into his tractors brake pad. Suddenly John began to remember...

It was a bright day almost twelve years ago, the summer breeze blew through the barn, cooling Johnathans face as he finished fixing Clarks bedside lamp. Clark had had another nightmare, and had accidentally thrown his hand into it. As Jonathan put the finishing touches on the wiring, he could hear the the sounds of his son running from the house to the barn, calling for his father as he ran.

"Dad! Dad!" An eight year old Clark shouted as he entered the barn and began to charge at Jonathan, who got into a stance that resembled a football linebacker. As Clark charged Jonathan threw his arms around Clark, who wrapped his arms around his fathers waist, and they began to wrestle around. Clark took hold of both of Jonathans legs and began to lift him up off the ground. Jonathan reached up and took hold of a wooden beam that came into his reach as his son lifted him.

"Wow son, you're getting even stronger. Soon you'll be able to lift me with one hand." Jonathan said as he looked down to his son, laughing slightly. "Yep. Does that mean I'll be as strong as you Dad? You can lift me with one hand." Jonathan smiled, he hesitated to say it, then decided it was best not to put the idea in his head. How do you tell your son that he already is stronger than you?

"You got a long way to go before then son." Jonathan said as his son returned him to the ground. "Give me a few minutes to finish up fixing the lamp, then we can go and toss the football around. Okay?" As Jonathan spoke Clarks face lit up, and his bright blue eyes seemed to shimmer. "Yay!" Clark yelled as he began to run around in circles. Jonathan watched his son run; so much energy and nothing to do with it...it didn't matter how different Clark was, he was just a regular little boy to Jonathan and Martha.

Jonathan stepped towards his son and grabbed hold of him to stop him from running in circles, Clark practically lept into his fathers arms. "I'm not going to be able to work with you running around like a maniac!" Jonathan said as he placed Clark back down on the ground. "I need to find something to keep you busy." Jonathan began to look around the barn for something to keep Clark busy, and from breaking anything. Jonathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black rubber bouncy ball.

"Here you go Clark. You can bounce this ball around and catch it, see?" Jonathan bounced the ball lightly against wall and it bounced a great distance, off of the beam Jonathan had been hanging off of, off of another wooden beam and then back to Jonathan. Clark was amazed by how well his father had bounced the ball, and wanted very much to try it himself. Clark held out his hands in anticipation as Jonathan placed the ball into Clarks hand.

Jonathan returned to work on the lamp as Clark began to play with the ball, bouncing it off of one or two surfaces before it would loose its rhythm and bounce several times off the floor. Jonathan worked away for several minutes until he was sure the wiring was correct. Jonathan leaned over to plus the lamp into the extension cord he had placed there earlier. As he plugged in the lamp Jonathan heard several loud crashing noises, then there was a loud thud above his head.

As Jonathan looked up he saw several pieces of the lamp falling into his head. Jonathan threw himself to the ground and covered his head for protection. Once the noise had stopped Jonathan looked up and could see Clark sitting on the ground with his face in his knees, and his arms wrapped around his legs.

Jonathans heart began to race. If anything had happened to Clark Jonathan would never forgive himself. "Clark! Oh my God son are you alright?" Jonathan said in a worried voice as he ran up placed his hands on Clarks shoulders. "Son?" Clark raised his face from his knees to show that he was crying. "I'm sorry Dad." Clark said through sobs. "What happened?" Jonathan asked, his worry subsiding. "I was trying to bounce the ball, but couldn't do it as good as you. So I tried to bounce it as hard as I could and..." Jonathan didn't need to hear anymore. He wrapped his arms around Clark and held him tight. "It's okay Clark. It's okay." Clark began to sob even more. "I'm sorry I broke the lamp again." Jonathan looked back to his workbench to see that the lamp was indeed in pieces on the floor. Jonathan began to laugh to himself; four hours fixing the lamp and its gone in the blaze of a bouncy ball.

Jonathan looked down to Clark as he laughed, and saw the confused look on Clarks face. "Well son, I think I'm just going to buy you a new lamp." Jonathan said as he lifted Clark up and began to walk them both back into the house. "I'm sorry I lost your ball..." Clark said in a guilty voice. Jonathan held his son in his arms and looked into his eyes. "The ball doesn't matter Clark. The lamp doesn't matter. Do you know what does matter Clark? You. To me you're more important than a million lamps or bouncy balls." Clarks face turned to a bright smile as he wiped the tears from his eyes and wrapped his arms around Jonathans neck. Jonathan walked back into the house with his son, maybe he could get Martha to bake some cookies for them...

Jonathan held the ball in his hand, the cool breeze bringing him back to reality. A tear was beginning to swell in his eye. He quickly wiped it away and hopped back onto the tractor, pocketing the ball as he did. He turned the Tractor on and put it in place for the next morning. Before Jonathan left the barn he went up into the loft...where Clark used to spend a lot of him time when he was a teenager. Jonathan looked over to the telescope that rested beside the window, waiting for Clark to come back and continue where he left off. Jonathans hands slipped into his pockets, and as they did he felt the small rubber ball he had placed in there. His mind raced back to Clark at thirteen years old helping him renovate the loft. Jonathan turned and left the barn before he began to tear up again.

As Jonathan walked into the house he looked over into the television room. Martha wasn't there. Jonathan began to walk through the lower level of the house, looking for Martha among the rooms. When he did not find her he began to search upstairs. As Jonathan searched his room and the bathroom, he came down the hallway and saw that a light was on in Clarks room. Jonathan approached the room and slowly opened the door. As he entered he could see Martha laying on Clarks bed; her back was turned to Jonathan, but he could see the plaid shirt sleeve draped over her shoulder, and could hear her sobbing into the collar. Jonathans heart was breaking, he knew exactly what was wrong but had no way to help her...no way to soothe her pain, despite everything he had done, tried to do...but as hard as he tried they both knew the truth; it was Jonathans fault Clark had run away...he only had himself to blame.

Jonathan was pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of the telephone. Jonathan turned around and looked down the hallway to the sound of the ringing. "Would you get the phone please Jonathan." Martha said in a low voice, trying to mask her sobbs, but Jonathan could hear them. He turned around without a word and began to walk down the hallway to the phone that was in their bedroom. Jonathan picked the phone off it's base ans the cord hung from the reciever.

"Kent residence. This is Jonathan." He said as he ran a hand through his greying blonde hair. "Mr. Kent...I have some news for you about your son." The voice was choppy, as if he was speaking through a fan, but there was no blowing wind. Jonathans heart skipped a beat. "Who is this?" He said, half angry half in an unbelieving daze. "Your son, Clark Kent. I wanted to tell you that he's safe." Jonathans voice gave to his anger before he could even think. "Who are you? Where is Clark? Where is my son?" Jonathan screamed into the phone.

"Please Mr. Kent, I understand how you are feeling, but I need you to listen to me." Jonathan felt his anger swell in him like a tornado. He wanted nothing more than to scream at this person until they gave him the answers he wanted, but his worry for Clark outweighed anything else. "Tell me..."

The voice seemed to clear its throat before speaking. "As I said, your son is safe. He is doing well...I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than that." Jonathans anger released itself with the fury of hell. "What? That's all? Where is he? Let me speak to him!" Jonathan screamed into the phone. "Uh, I'm afraid I can't do that." "You listen to me whoever you are. I want to speak to my son! Let me speak to him. Please...just give me my son back." Jonathan collapsed to his knees as they buckled underneath him. Tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Mr. Kent, I'm not keeping your son from you. He is free to go where he chooses; he has, unfortunately chosen not to return home. And as you know, given your sons 'special' talents, he is not simply the kind of person you can tell to do something; but I assure you I will not rest until your son is back home in your arms. I give you my word." Jonathan fell silent, as the voice spoke Jonathan could feel that it was true. He searched for the words to say, but nothing seemed to come. "Mr. Kent?" The voice said again. "Thank you." Martha Kents voice rang through the phone, but also chimed in the background to Jonathan. He turned around and could see Martha Kent standing in the doorway. "Not at all Miss." The voice said through the phone."I'm sorry I can't give you more information," "You've done so much by saying so little...thank you."

Jonathan hung up the phone. After he did Martha could hear the click of the anonymous caller hanging up their phone. Martha dropped the cordless phone to the floor and ran to Jonathan, wrapping her arms around him. "He's safe, Jonathan. He's safe." Martha said as she stroked her husbands hair. Jonathan burried his face into Marthas shoulder and began to sob. His son hadn't been scooped up by the government to be tested on; he hadn't been picked up by whoever brought him here. He was safe; and the Kents would see their son again...

S

A lump of mashed potato flew through the air over the table of the Gordon household. Jim hadn't been quick enough to take the spoon from Barbra's hand and he could only watch as the mashed potato flew into his son James's face. For a moment James looked shocked, his short blonde hair slightly covered in white potato, and it covering his entire face. He wiped the potato away from his eyes and stared at Barbra with disbelief before breaking into laughter. "Wow, you actually did it!" James said as he smacked his hand on the table. "James, stop that. And Barbra! You don't get any desert for that." Barbras mouth dropped as she stared at her father in defiance.

"But it was only mashed potatoe! It didn't even hurt him!" Jim looked at his daughter with strong eyes. "That's not the point. I told you not to do it. I even asked you nicely; so you don't get any of the desert I made." Barbra rose from her seat with an air of anger. "Fine, you make crappy food anyway." Barbra said as she stormed out of the kitchen. Jim thought for a moment about storming after her, but he understood what she really meant when she said that. _I miss her too._ Jim thought to himself.

Jim looked at his son, and the potato that he was scooping off his face and into his mouth. Jim reached back from his chair to the cloth that lay on the counter-top and tossed it lightly to James. "Clean it off properly son." James picked up the cloth and reluctantly wiped the potato off of his face. The phone suddenly began to ring, and Jim rose from his seat and went to answer.

"This is Jim Gordon." "Commissioner!" Bullocks voice bellowed through the phone. "I've got something you're going to want to see, you should get down here now." Jim looked back to his son at the dinner table, still wiping the potato off his face, discretely eating some when he could.

"I'll get down as quick as I can." Gordon said as Bullock hung up the phone. Jim turned to his son with a long look, James looked back to him with a look of confusion. Jim smiled, "Barbra!" He called out. "Do you still want desert? You get the bowls and spoons and all is forgiven." Soon Jim could hear the sound of his daughters feet come firing down the stairs. Jim walked over to the hallway only to have his daughter wrap her arms around his chest. "I'm sorry Daddy." Barbra said with a sob.

"Hey, hey. No tears now. I'm going to need you to call your Aunt after desert to take care of you two for the night, are you going to be able to do that?" Jim said as he looked into Barbras eyes, which were red from crying. She nodded her head as Jim wiped a tear from her eye. "That's my girl; go get the bowls." He said as he placed a kiss on Barbras forehead.


	11. Riddles and Puppets

(Here's the next chapter. Things are starting to get to the boiling point now, as I'm introducing some key players here. No one seems to be reviewing though, so if there isn't more interest shown I probably wont go on with this story after part 1.)

Chapter 11:

Gordon rushed through the main doors of his Precinct to see Lieutenant Drake standing by the reception area filling out some papers. "Drake!" Gordon shouted, causing Drake to turn around sharply. "Where's Bullock?" Drake thought to himself for a moment, "I saw him up in the offices, he seemed pretty agitated about something...I saw Nygma up there a few minutes ago as well."

Gordons left eyebrow rose from under his glasses. Maybe Bullock had found something on Honest Ed? "On my six Jack; bring the paperwork with you." Officer Drake scooped up his paper and rolled it up before putting it into his pocket as he followed Gordon into the elevator. As the door closed shut, Drake edged his way to the back of the elevator, placing himself behind Gordon.

"So hows your boy Jack?" Gordon said as he pressed the button to take him to the offices. "He's doing better. Though he hasn't been the same since the circus...I mean he met that entire family of performers before the show... They were nice; good people. Tim was so nervous around them, but their son got Tim to like him enough to take a picture with the whole family before the show...before they..." Gordon turned his head, seeing that he had hit on a sensitive subject. "Give him time to adjust; I'm sure he'll be fine... It's never easy when children learn about death for the first time."

There was an awkward silence that filled the elevator as it lifted the two men to their destination. As the door opened all either of them could hear was Bullocks voice booming through the hallways. People were looking up from their desks towards the sound of Bullocks voice. Gordon walked out of the elevator with Drake following him and made his way through the cubicles to the offices. "I know you're trash Ed. I don't need the D.A. or her approval to know scum when I see it." As Gordon turned the corner to Bullocks office, he saw Nygma storming into the office and out of Gordons sight with his finger pointed at Bullock.

"You know what the saddest thing about you is Harv? You're losing your house, your wife left you, but those are inconsequential to the greater truth that makes you truly pathetic." Suddenly Gordon saw the window of Bullocks office crash into pieces as Edward Nygma flew through the window, his knees catching on the ledge as he dropped his cane. Gordon began to run towards the office as he saw Bullocks powerful arm reach through the window and grab Nygma by the collar. Nygma reached for his cane as Bullock pulled him up.

As Gordon came running into the room, Drake following close behind him with his baton drawn; they saw Bullock lying flat on his back, a large bruise swelling quickly on his forehead. Edward Nygma was resting on the desk, holding his cane from the bottom, its top broken in. "Nygma. My office now!" Gordon said with a strong authority in his voice. Nygma looked to Gordon as he caught his breath, wiping the blood from his lip; which was swelling terribly.

Nygma walked by Gordon, limping slightly as he did. "You saw him Jim. I only defended myself. I expect you to replace my cane." A grin cut across Nygmas face. "It wasn't cheap." Nygma said as he exited the office. "Drake, go get the medical kit; lets make sure he doesn't have a concussion." Gordon said as Drake nodded and exited the room. Gordon then turned to Bullock as he tried to lift himself off the ground using a nearby chair. Gordon walked to his side and held out his hand. Bullock took it and lifted himself up, avoiding eye contact with Gordon as he did.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself Harvey?" Bullock could hear the anger and disappointment in Gordons voice. "I'm sorry Commish. I just...I snapped okay. I'm sorry." Bullock looked up into Gordons eyes, his head still swimming slightly. "I want you to take a break Harvey. You've been going non-stop since Loeb went down, the stress is starting to get to you." An angry look came over Bullocks face. He stared into Gordons eyes with a look of defiance, but Gordon never wavered. A defeated look came over Bullock, which quickly returned to anger as Drake entered the room with the medical kit. Bullock reached down to his belt and removed his gun in its holster, then removed his badge from around his neck and placed them both on his desk. He then grabbed his jacket off of his chair and stormed by Drake; taking the medical kit from him and walking straight into the bathroom.

"Your dismissed Drake." Gordon said as Drake, shock evident on his face from what he had seen; left the room without a word. Gordon removed his glasses and rubbed his nose; this wasn't what he needed.

Gordon slammed the door to his office open, and waiting there was Detective Nygma, holding an ice-pack to his bruised lip. "You saw him Gordon. He threw me through the window, unprovoked!" Nygma said as he threw his finger into the air and pointed towards the bathroom Bullock was in. "I may not have heard the whole thing Nygma, but I heard enough to know that it wasn't an unprovoked attack. You've been pushing his buttons ever since Loeb went down, and I don't like it." Nygma removed the ice-pack from his face to reveal that the swelling had gone up. "Come on Jim. We both know Loeb took better care of his men than you ever could." Nygma said as he sat back on Gordons desk. "You can call me Commissioner; Detective. And it's no secret that Loeb had his hands in more mob pockets than Lionel Luthor...you've got the rest of the day off Nygma. Go home." Nygma sat at Gordons desk with a mischievous smile, before placing his broken cane on top of the desk and removing the ice-pack from his face. "There's a funny thing about paranoia...Commissioner. Usually we only think we're being paranoid, but when is being paranoid a lie to yourself?" Nygma smiled as he walked by Gordon, raising the ice-pack back to his lip.

Gordon slammed the door shut behind Nygma and sat furiously at his desk. He pulled out the files he had been researching earlier on Nygma and the possibility that he was working for The Joker. As bad as Nygma was he wasn't the type to get involved with a psychopath...at least not willingly. Gordon knew that The Joker would take any opportunity he could to infiltrate his team...Nygma wasn't a proven dirty cop, but everybody had their suspicions about him; but for some reason the new D.A. never believed there was enough to prosecute.

A feeling of remorse came over Jim Gordon as his mind wandered to the man that the new D.A. had replaced...Harvey Dent. Gordon looked over to a picture on his desk of himself and Harvey Dent shaking hands when Gordon was made a Detective; they were both still early in their careers, but on that day they had found allies in each other...There was a sudden knock on the door. "Come in." Gordon said before clearing his throat. To his surprise Bullock walked into his office, holding his head up high, his injury fully bandaged and taken care of.

"Listen Gordon; I know you told me to take some time off; but I called you down here for a reason." Gordon looked at Bullock with restrained anger; Gordon had almost forgot that he had been having a somewhat nice evening at home with his children. "I'm listening." Gordon said as Bullock cleared his throat. "I was reviewing the messages on my office phone; and there was a message there that...well it was Nygma, he must have been in my office snooping through my stuff. The person that he was talking to... I'm positive that he's working for the Joker." Gordon sat back in his chair as a feeling of horror sunk into his gut. "Do you still have the message?" A defeated look came over Bullocks face. "No; I went to go look for Nygma after I called you, I found him coming out of the elevator and we started arguing. I told him that I had all the proof I needed, and when he asked to see it...I don't know what to say Gordon, it was gone. I left it in my coat pocket, and I left my coat in my office...It was a stupid mistake." Gordon rubbed his hands over his nose.

"This is why you two were arguing?" Bullock nodded. "Bullock; without proof there is no way I can get the D.A. to even think about going after Nygma." Bullocks eyes widened. "What if they're in cahoots?" Gordon thought over Bullocks proposal. "You're just jumping to conclusions Bullock...but I don't want you out of picture; I just need you out of lime light for a I count on you for this Bullock." Bullock chuckled to himself.

"I thought I was suspended." Gordon smiled to Bullock as he spoke. "That's not going to stop a man like you Harv." Bullock returned the smile. "Where do you want me?" Gordon thought to himself for a moment. "Come back at midnight. Meet me on the roof...it's time you met someone."

...

"You'll pay for this. Don't you know who we work for?" Kal held the gangster by the back of his shirt as he pressed him lightly into the wall. "You're smuggling illegal drugs, and using immigrants that you brought here under the pretense of a new life to move your product. It doesn't matter who you work for, I'm stopping it now." Kal lightly tapped the gangster on the back of the head, knocking him out.

The short man fell to the floor as Kal released his grip. Kal looked around the factory as the last of the immigrants fled out the door. Kal felt that he should have called the authorities; but who was he to tell these people they didn't have a place in this country...

Kal observed the dozens of unconscious guards around the warehouse. Kal used his super-speed to round them all up and tie their arms together. Kal then turned his attention to the hundreds of wooden crates filled with a heroine shipment. Kal took a deep breath and then as he began to release his breath; in an instant the crates in front of him were frozen solid. Kal looked around the warehouse one more time; he wanted to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Kal closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He opened his eyes as his vision began to shift through the light spectrum, allowing him to gaze through the walls. Kal observed for a moment but did not see anything of interest. Soon Kal could feel his head begin to throb, he quickly shut his eyes and stopped concentrating and began to think about Lana.

Kal could feel the pain lessen from his skull as he opened his eyes to find that his vision had returned to normal. Kal took a deep sigh; he always worried that one day he would switch it on and then he would never be able to turn it off...that he'd never be able to see normally again.

Yet Kal had bigger worries than that now. With the Joker on the run Kal had been making regular busts on all of the crime rings, stopping them at every turn; it would only be a matter of time before the Joker satisfied that he had accomplished his mission, Kal sped out of the factory, off to his next destination.

Less than twenty minutes later a dark shadow crept through the factory, quickly taking in every detail of its surroundings. After a full sweep of the area Batman emerged from the shadows. Batman moved in closer to the pile of gangsters who were all tied together. Batman's eyes were almost instantly drawn to a large ice formation in the center of the room. Batman ran his hand along the surface, the ice melting slightly, wetting his glove. Batman examined the water on his hand before reaching into his belt. He removed a small glass tube and chipped off a piece of the ice for examination. As Batman placed the fragment into his belt, his communicator sounded.

Batmans hand came up from his cape, which was draped over his whole body; and rubbed put his hand to the communicator in his cowl. "Alfred, I need you to call Gordon, tell him there's a present for him in Otisburg. 221 Factory Road." Batman reached down to his belt and pulled out his grappling gun. "The details have been sent Master Bruce. Have you had any luck tracking him down?" Alfreds voice cut in through Batmans earpiece as he launched his grapple through the window he entered through and pulled himself up.

"No, I'm having trouble catching up with him. He leaves a trail that a rookie could follow; but he moves too fast. I need to be ahead of him, not tracking his foot prints." Batman was pulled through the window and into the streets of Gotham. He disengaged the grapple and quickly threw out his cape and began to glide down to the streets below. "Perhaps you should re-shift your focus, sir. Commissioner Gordon would like to speak with you." As Alfred spoke Batman looked up into the air and could see the Bat-signal shinning in the sky like a second moon. "I see it Alfred. I'm on my way." Batman released his cape as he made his approach to the Bat-mobile, landing gracefully in the drivers seat as the hood shifted closed behind him.

...

Edward Nygma entered his penthouse apartment. He tossed his jacket onto his leather chair as he walked into the kitchen. Nygma reached into his freezer and pulled out an ice pack. Rolling up the sleeves of his silk shirt, he wrapped a cloth around the ice pack and pressed it to his lip.

Nygma left his kitchen and entered his living room; sitting down in his couch as he looked out of the window to his view of Gotham City. "Great men lead countries. But what does it take to be a great man?" Nygma said aloud. Suddenly there was a dark silhouette that appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. A devilish grin cut across Nygmas face.

"It takes a great woman." Nygma turned his head to see the sight of Janice Porter in revealing lingerie, wearing a cashmere robe that Nygma had gotten for her. The moonlight reflected off of her long blonde hair as she sat next to Nygma on the couch.

"What happened to your face?" Janice said as she reached out her hand to Nygmas lip. Nygma took her hands in his before she could touch it. "I'm fine. I had a run in with Bullock at the office." A disapproving look came over her face. "I told you to stay away from him. He took Loeb down. Who knows what he could have on you." Janice said in a hushed whisper; a smile broke over Nygmas face. "We don't have to worry about Bullock anymore. We can start concentrating on Gordon; and getting things back to the way they should be." As Nygma spoke Janice began to slowly nibble at his neck.

"I love it when you talk like that." Janice said as she reached into Nygmas pocket and pulled out a small cassette. "Whats this? Hiding things from me?" The smile left from Nygmas face. "It's evidence. The kind that can be used against me." Janice smiled before leaning in to kiss Nygma. As she leaned back out she placed the cassette in Nygmas hand, and together they crushed it into pieces. "Don't worry love, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to my finest detective. I'd make a pitiful excuse for a D.A. if I did." Nygma grabbed Janice by the waist and tossed her onto the couch. As Nygma went down to join her, the bright silver of the Bat-Signal filled the sky of Gotham; illuminating Nygmas room.

...

A single light-bulb hung over the round table. Sitting around the table were some of Gothams Criminal Fraternity's elites. "It's like every time we try to make a move we get cut off." Jonas Maroni, son of the late Sal Maroni; having recently dropped out of Gotham University to take control of his fathers criminal empire, stood an impressive 6'2 and was a burlier man than his father was. "I've lost over six dozen of my own men in the last few weeks; and it's not isolated! It's happening all over town, sometimes twice in the same night in two different districts."

"It's defiantly not isolated. I've had two plantations hit on the outskirts of Gotham. These places were hidden and packed to the teeth; fifty men at each station." Alberto Falcone, son of the late Carmine Falcone; Carmine worked to keep his son away from the business, as Alberto had an appetite for killing, but with his father gone Alberto had taken over, but he had no idea how to run a criminal empire. "They were piled up and left for the cops. They said all they saw was a dark blur."

"Your men are nuts. It's the Bat. Or it's you and your men, making crazy stories about god knows what." Roman Sionis, a small time enforcer from Chicago who had come to Gotham to build his own empire. He was reluctant to work along side of the sons of the former Kingpins, but he had to go along with them until he was strong enough to go out on his own. "Shut your mouth, Sionis! The Falcone's are nothing but honest with their business partners!" Alberto shot up from his chair, pulling a knife from his jacket.

Suddenly there was a single gunshot that rang through the air. Falcone jumped beneath the table as the others too hid beneath the table. As they all peaked their heads over the table they could see the smoking barrel pointed straight into the air, the shooter hidden behind the back of the large chair he sat in. "Ye' bunch o' schmucks! Y'er too preoccu-pied bick'rin mungst y'er shelves t'er lerk at d'is clerly." The low voice hung in the air even after he spoke. "I bin roun'en yeh tehgetteh fer munts. I bin keepin all eyes on yeh all since befoh I meht yeh bunch o' goons. Dis 'es bin da Bat! Ahn We're gunna teach da' mook dat yah don' cross Scarface!"

The chair swung around as the beat up puppet smacked a hand down on the table with force enough to shake the glass that rested in front of him. The bald head of Arnold Wesker reflected the light from the bulb that hung over the table. A look of terror was etched into his face that seemed to echo through the faces of the gathered criminals, they knew that Arnold was unaware of his psychosis, but that his alternate persona had no quarells with putting a bullet in anyone who crossed him. The doll in Weskers hand dropped the smoking gun on the table as Wesker straightened out his hat.

"Git y'er mugs off 'er me yeh raht bahstard. Like I wuz sayen. We're gunna show da Bat wut we do tah freaks who tink dey can muck up our op'rassons." ScarFace leaned back, his wooden face shadowed by his wide-brimmed hat. "What do you got planned for him boss?" Ronny Telliti was one of the few remaining figureheads from the post-Batman Gotham Crime Family. After the death of Carmine Falcone he had gone underground, only recently coming back into the light, and not happy about answering to a puppet.

"Don't chu werry bout it boys. I've gaht a spesh'list comen in. Da Bats bout ta feel owr Bane."

(Poor Batman, being blamed for Kals good deeds. Don't think Kal minds though. Was that a typo at the end? Or a name drop? I'm kind of a tease so its probably the ladder. But yah, things are gonna heat up for Kal and Batman. We're going to Metropolis to check in on Lex for a while in the next chapter, see how things are going with his little project. And if anyone is wondering how its all going to fit together...it all does. Trust me, I know. But everything that seems hazy now will be made completely clear once "The Legend Begins")


	12. Forward

(Here's the next Chapter. I know I promised that it would be a new one every day after Oct. 1, but there were some complications and the new chapters (what I had of them typed) are gone...computer viruses can be a pain in the rear. But the good news is that I still have all of my rough hand written work for the rest of Part 1 and my basic story outline; so it won't be too hard to put back together. Humpty Dumpty shall live Again!)

Chapter 12:

Gordon stood a top of GCPD headquarters as the Bat-signal filled the sky above him. Gordon rested against the door as he smoked from his pipe. Gordon shifted about restlessly; he had been waiting for almost forty minutes, he knew that some nights Batman wouldn't even show up; he hated how hard it could be to get in contact with him.

The sound of an ambulances sirens filled the air as Gordon took a long inhale. There was a sudden thud nearby; Gordon turned his head slightly to see the dark silhouette of the Batman emerge from the shadows beside the flood-light.

"Good of you to show up for once." Gordon said in a dry tone as he began to tap out the contents of his pipe, blowing the remains of the smoke in his mouth to the side.

"I've been busy." Batman said in the deep voice Gordon had become accustomed to; he sounded much better than he did last time he had come.

"Haven't we both? But to be honest; I feel better sometimes when you don't show up...nothing personal, just means you're doing your job." Gordon said with a slight grin before he put on a stern face; "Something's come up." Gordon began. "There was a confrontation between two of my detectives earlier tonight. I'm almost convinced one of them is the leak to the Joker you mentioned." Batman clenched his fists.

"I'll find out for you. Tell me who he is." Batman said in a deep, growling voice.

"Not so fast. I've got someone I'd like you to meet. He's one of mine, though technically he's operating more on your level now." Batman looked curiously past Gordon to the shut door. Gordon continued, "I want you to help him in his investigation."

Batman stood still, and responded in an unmoved voice. "I work best alone." Gordon laughed to himself.

"I'm well aware of that. I need you to do some Intel gathering work; get everything you have connecting Joker to any low-level police workers to my man, and he'll take care of the rest." Batman thought to himself for a moment; he didn't see anything wrong with Gordons request.

"I can do that." Batman said in compliance.

"Good." Gordon said as he reached over and turned off the bat-signal. "You've heard of Detective Bullock?" Gordon asked as he turned to face Batman, who remarkably was still where he was when Gordon had turned around.

"He's the man you have hiding out on the fire-escape; right?" Batman said plainly as Gordon began to chuckle to himself.

"Nothing gets by you." Gordon said jokingly as he walked over to the fire-escape; Bullock poking his head up as Gordon approached.

"I heard he knows I'm here." Bullock said as he climbed up the fire-escape. "So, Bats, we got a deal?" Bullock looked up to Batman, but as he did the Batman was nowhere in sight. "What? Where did he go?" Bullock asked in annoyance.

"I guess he had better things to do to." Gordon said as he began to make his way to the door; Bullock following close behind him. As Gordon opened the door he turned to Bullock. "Where do you think you're going?" Gordon asked, to which Bullock responded with a dumbfounded look. "You're on probation. You came up the fire-escape, you can go back down that way." Gordon said dully as he entered the building and shut the door behind him.

Bullock heard the door lock shut as he stood on the roof groaning to himself; before making his way towards the fire-escape.

S

The hallways of LexCorps underground facility were dark in the night. As dark as it gets. Toiling away in his secret lab, Lex Luthor was putting the finishing touches on his device to inhibit the 'Source' from taking any more power. There was a loud buzz that echoed through the lab as Lex sighed heavily. He reached over to a button under his work station and pressed it; opening the door to reveal Dr. Franken, escorted by John Corben.

"I'm sorry Lex; I told him you wouldn't want to be bothered, but he wouldn't shut up. He even threatened to leave the base." Lex cast an aggravated look towards Dr. Franken; who glared at him over his half moon spectacles.

"What is this about Doctor? I don't pay you to waste the time of my personal security." Lex said with agitation as he removed his lab coat and began to approach Dr. Franken; who shrunk considerably with Lex Luthor standing above him; commanding an answer with his body language.

"I..." Dr. Franken stuttered slightly, a feeling of intimidation coming over him. Suddenly Dr. Franken became petrified with fear as Lex Luthor sneered down at him with a glare that cut through him.

The Doctor had not been afraid when Corben had threatened to smack him around; but at this moment, he knew nothing but fear.

"Speak up Doctor; I don't have all day." Lex said with an increased anger in his voice as he turned and walked back to his desk; noticing Dr. Frankens discomfort.

"I have, uh, experienced several more power disruptions." Dr. Franken said, calming as Lex put more distance between them. "They have come at imperative parts of my research when power requirements are needed to remain at maximum to sustain the energy generated."

Lex laughed as he lifted up his new machine. "Don't worry Doctor. I have the fix for our problems right here." Lex picked up a large cylindrical object from his table and cradled it in his arms. "This device will act as a block to our primary power sources. If it tries to draw power again not only will I be able to track and analyze how much it's accumulated, but the device will begin a direct siphon to not only collect the energy being taken at the time, but also get back any that it's taken before."

Corben admired the device as Lex held it, but Dr. Franken turned on his spot and began to leave the lab. "Sorry Mr. Luthor...I won't disturb you again." The door shut itself as Dr. Franken exited the lab.

Lex walked up to John and placed his device onto his lab table before turning to John. "I want you to take this down to the 'Source'. Don't even try setting it up, just leave it for me." Lex said as he began to walk towards a wall in his lab.

John picked up the machine and placed it onto a dolly which was sitting in the corner. "You got it Lex." John said with a cheerful tone as he began to push the dolly towards the door.

Lex moved over to his lab table and pressed the button to open the door. As the door swung open, Lex spoke in a low voice; "John." Corben spun around to look at Lex as he continued. "If you ever disobey my orders again; I wont hesitate to replace you." Lex cast an irritated look at Corben. "We may have history; but don't think that makes you irreplaceable." Johns face flushed red as Lex glared at him.

"Yes sir." John said in a defeated tone as he left the lab. Lex stood in his lab alone; pondering to himself about some of the more intricate parts of his device.

For several minutes Lex stood still, thinking about his machine; when suddenly his mind began to wander to his Miami estate. Lex reached down under his lab table and pressed another button. This time a section of the wall shifted open to reveal a hidden section of Lexes lab that no one alive knew about.

Lex moved into the room and began to walk by several old experiments he had worked on; Lex payed most of them no attention as he came to a pedestal in the middle of the room. Upon this pedestal was the remains of one of Lexes old cars; it was bent in the middle as if he had hit a telephone poll. Yet it wasn't a telephone poll Lex had hit that day; it was a man.

Lex looked past the destroyed car to a monitor which had an image of the interior of Lexes Miami estate office; it was damaged heavily. Lex approached the monitor and activated the recorded video; which began to loop a ten second video where Lex is seen shooting his friend Kal in the chest. Yet the bullet didn't even harm Kal; it instead bounced off of him and into the chest of their mutual friend Chloe Sullivan. In the next moment Kal grabs Lex by the collar and tosses him out of the camera frame.

Lex reached up and rubbed his left arm, feeling the scar he had received from crashing into the wall so hard; he then watched the remainder of the video as Kal picked up Chloe and began to run away at a speed that the camera couldn't follow. Lex paused the video as Kal turned into a blur; "You can run all you want Kal, but can't hide from me forever."

S

_Meanwhile; at 'The Source'..._

Heat monitor detecting movement. One subject: Subject is commencing in physical labor.

Monitoring...

Monitoring...

Monitoring...

Subject has ceased physical labor. Subject is leaving containment...Subject has left containment.

Activating binary sensory scan.

Scanning...

New technological device found.

Analyzing...

Device has capabilities of inhibiting power drainage from main systems. Detection has been compromised. Power at 26%. Adequate power level not yet met.

Continuing Analysis...

Device has capabilities of acting as two-way conduit. Predicted power levels after single use with adapted capability...88%.

Reviewing directives...

6) Acquire sufficient Power - Likelihood: High

5) Acquire Knowledge of Planetoid - Likelihood: High

4) Obtain Inter-galatic transceiver - Likelihood : Pending on Directive 5

3) Establish base of operation - Likelihood: Pending on Directive 5

2) Destroy Kryptonian - PRIME DIRECTIVE - Likelihood: Unknown

1) Error...

Directive 1 remains locked until current PRIME DIRECTIVE is accomplished. Entering 'Hibernation Mode' until next power-drain.

S

Kal sat on the bench in the abandoned Wayne shelter he had been staying in. He held in his hand the latest copy of the Gotham Times; and he was reading the newest article by Perry White, which covered Kals own raid on the Jokers lair:

_Several dozen men with known affiliations to The Joker have been taken to the morgue after the police finished with their clean-up of the strange explosion that rocked the lower end of the Diamond District several nights ago. It is unknown at this point how long The Joker had been hiding out at this particular establishment, nuzzled deep within the bowls of Gotham City; but it seems that The Joker still has The Batman on his tail._

_ The bodies that were recovered were riddled with bullets, some electrocuted; some were even missing their limbs. Police Commissioner James Gordon claims, "the deaths aren't being placed on The Batman. He has never crossed 'that' line before, and given the brutal way most of the bodies were found; it's safe to say that they don't fit The Batmans M.O."_

_ Commissioner Gordon refused to comment on how The Batman has seemingly begun a massive crackdown on the Gotham Criminal Empire. With multiple occurrences of gang related activity being brought to an abrupt halt all across the city, and increased pressure from the police on mob related activity; there seems to be a time of free-crime coming in Gotham._

_ This reporter knows he isn't alone when he says it's about damn time._

Kal smiled to himself; it wasn't every day that he got praise from a big-time reporter like Perry White...even if he didn't even know he was writing about him.

Kal was feeling better about himself after reading that article than he had in a long time. Batman told him that this wasn't the job for him; and here was Perry White, possibly saying that he was doing even better than The Batman was. There was feeling of euphoric joy that surged through Kal as he re-read the article once more.

As Kal read he felt the crystal around his neck fall from his shirt, and hang freely by his chest. Kal reached down and gripped at the crystal, placing the paper down as he brought his full attention to the crystal.

He ran his finger through the strange inscription that was etched into the crystal. The symbol almost looked like an 'S'; but Kal knew that there was more to it than that. There had to be a meaning to it; some secret language maybe...maybe his name. Maybe it meant Kal El.

Kal felt a wave of remorse run through him as the name seemed to linger in his thoughts. Kal El. Was that who he was? The crystal he held in his hand slipped through his fingers as Kals mind wandered back to his childhood...

...

_4 Years _Ago

"Clark! Slow down!" Lana Lang called out as she chased after Clark; who was a good ten feet in front of her. The two ran through a large field towards an old windmill. It was a bright summer day shortly after Clark and Lana had graduated.

"Sorry Lana; I just love the view from up there." Clark said with a smile as he waited for Lana to catch up. Clark wore a pair of work boots, which were slightly worn of color. He also wore a pair of jeans and a plaid long sleeve button up shirt.

"Sometimes I wonder how you can run that fast; but you were Quarterback for a reason Mr. Kent." Lana said as she caught up to Clark, linking her arm with his as they began to walk side by side towards the mill. Lana's long black hair hung lightly at her shoulders; she wore a light green summer dress with sandals.

The two made it to the windmill and began to make their way up a ladder to a small perch which was halfway up the windmill. The two had to make sure to remain crouched while they were up there, or else the spinning turbine wings could hit them.

Clark leaned back against the hard metal casing of the windmill; Lana leaning over onto Clarks chest. Clark placed his arm around Lana as the two sat enjoying each others company.

"So;" Lana said lightly, keeping her head nuzzled into Clarks chest. "Have you given any thought to where you want to go to school?"

"I don't know." Clark said as he brought his free hand up to scratch the back of his head. "I've got a few scholarships; Metropolis, Central City, and Star City Universities have given me offers...but." Lana lifted herself off of Clark and looked into his eyes with a worried look.

"You're worried about your parents?" Lana asked as the worried look carried from Lanas face to Clarks.

"I am. I don't want them to lose the farm just because I had to go to school." Clark said, his voice filled with light guilt.

"What do you mean 'just because you have to go to school'? It's what they've always wanted for you Clark. I mean they want you to be happy; they don't want you to be worrying about them all the time."

Clark gazed into Lana's eyes as a smile began to form along his face. Clark moved his face forward and planted a kiss on Lanas lips. The two kissed for a moment before Clark leaned back against the casing. "Tell me again why you waited so long to do that?" Lana said with breathless expression, her eyes still gently shut.

Suddenly Clark heard that sound of a broken muffler firing out an ungodly sound. Lana turned around with a horrified look on her face to see a truck driving over the field that her and Clark had only recently crossed themselves.

"Oh no." Lana said fearfully as Clark took her hand.

"Don't worry; if we have to tell him a hundred times, he will get the idea." Clark said firmly as Lana looked at him with disbelief. Clark couldn't blame her for not thinking he could take Whitney; she still didn't know what Clark was really capable of.

The two made their way down the ladder as the white truck with the broken muffler pulled up the to the windmill. The door opened as Clark and Lana reached the bottom of the ladder, and a young man with short blonde hair stepped out of the truck. He had blood shot eyes with a lot of stubble on his face.

"Well here she is; the skank with her little farm boy idiot." Whitney shouted as he approached, throwing his finger into the air and pointed furiously towards Lana. Clark could smell the alcohol on him; and was ashamed that he had graduated in the same class as this guy.

"I told you that it's over Whitney. I broke up with you months ago. It's no business of yours who I'm with." Lana said in strong voice as her fingers began to dig into Clarks skin. Clark felt several of her nails crack as she applied more pressure.

Whitney began to laugh as he stumbled about in front of them. "You think you can leave me? You don't just leave me Lana. We've done this before; lets just cut the crap. How about you just dump this loser and come back to the winning team." Clark felt a surge of anger rush through him...but he was raised better than that.

"Whitney, you've had a lot to drink. You should let us take you home." As Clark spoke Whitney cast him a look as if Clark had just spat in his face.

"What did you say to me? Huh freak?" Whitney shouted as he gave Clark a strong push; though instead of standing his ground Clark let Whitney push him. "Don't you ever say nothin to me; got it farm boy?" Lana let go of Clarks hand and moved forward to push Whitney away.

"Just leave me alone Whitney. Go away!" Lana pushed at Whitney, but as she did he grabbed hold of her arms. She began to struggle against him; and in the struggle she poked him in the eye, knocking him back.

"Gah! You bitch!" Whitney shouted as he threw his hand out, ready to strike Lana across the face. Just before Whitneys hand hit her face it was caught by the strong hand of Clark Kent; who held Whitneys hand with enough for to crush every finger in it.

Whitney cried out in pain as Clark gave Whitney a shove, and he went flying into the truck; leaving a large dent in the driver side door. Clark felt a wave of rage rush through him as he suddenly realized what he had just done. Clark cast a horrified look to Lana, who looked up at him with amazement; too shocked by what had just happened to say anything.

For a moment the two looked at each other; neither of them knowing what to say. There was a sudden rush of fear that made its way into Clarks mind as he turned on his spot; speeding away in a blur, leaving Lana with the unconscious Whitney in the middle of the field.


	13. The Jonah Hex Memorial Parade

Chapter 13

The sun danced upon Bruce Waynes face as he half awoke to the sound of Dick Graysons voice bellowing through the air. "Bruce! Wakey, wakey!" Dick shouted with excitement as he began to shake at Bruces arm. When Bruce rolled over in his bed and turned his back to Dick, Dicks face suddenly turned to a determined glare as he hopped up onto Bruces bed and began to jump up and down. "Bruce! Time to wake up!" Dick shouted down to Bruce, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the noise.

Bruce rolled over again, placing his pillow on his head to dull the noise. He had been out until five A.M searching for Clark Kent; he had been able to narrow down an area where most of his saves occurred; a small slum in the East End...not far from crime alley. Suddenly Bruce could feel the bed begin to shake even harder as Dick continued to jump up and down. Bruce rolled over and looked at his clock; it was just after 8:30. "Too early. A few more hours." Bruce said in a groggy voice.

Suddenly Bruce felt his pillow pulled out from under his head and then smacked into his face. Bruce brushed the pillow away to see Dick's disappointed face. "You promised." Dick said in a pleading tone. Bruce looked back to the clock and groaned out loud.

"Fine; I'm up." Bruce said in a deep voice as he tossed his covers off and put his feet on the ground. Dick jumped off of the bed and into the hallway with one leap and began to cheer as he ran off down the stairs; calling to Alfred that Bruce was awake.

Bruce rubbed his face as he lifted himself from bed, he slowly but surely made his way over to the closet before opening it, and picked up a robe from the rack before putting it on and then began to make his way to the kitchen. As Bruce walked through the mansion he could hear the television from the entertainment room; Dick was watching the Loony-Toons and laughing loudly.

"Good morning Master Bruce." Alfred said to Bruce as he entered the kitchen. Alfred was busy making bacon and eggs, the smell of them helped to wake Bruce up.

"Coffee; please. Black." Bruce said in a low voice as he sat down at the table and rested his head in his left hand. Alfred watched Bruce as he sat there; wondering if Bruce had even noticed...

"You're talking like him." Alfred said with light worry. Bruce looked to Alfred with confusion and exhaustion etched into his face.

"Like who?" Bruce said with mild irritation; to which Alfred did not take kindly, and began to scowl at Bruce.

"Like The Batman." Alfred said in a light whisper, before continuing at a regular voice. "You talk in that deep voice more and more... and I don't think you even notice it." Alfred said as Bruce was taken back by Alfreds words. It was true, Bruce hadn't noticed it. "And try not to forget that our young house guest has spoken with The Batman directly." Alfred said in an urgent tone as the sounds of Buggs Bunny and Daffy Duck filled the air, followed shortly by Dick Graysons laughter.

"You're absolutely right Alfred..." Bruce said with a disappointed voice before he quickly cleared his throat. "I wasn't thinking; thank you." He said with a smile, his voice taking on a noticeable lighter tone; he then rose from his seat and placed a comforting hand on Alfreds back.

"I take it you will be joining us in the mornings festivities then?" Alfred asked as he returned the smile before turning to the coffee pot and pouring Bruce a tall cup of coffee.

"I promised Dick that I would. I've been trying to do more with him." Bruce said before taking a long sip from his coffee. Alfreds smile brightened as he turned back to making breakfast for them all.

"I have noticed, and I'm glad to see that you are following through with your word." Alfred said with a brief smile. "Would you go tell Master Richard that breakfast will be ready momentarily." Alfred said and Bruce tipped his mug to indicate that he would do as he was asked. He then got up out of his chair and left the kitchen.

S

Lex made the final adjustments to the device that would stop the Source from draining any more power from the rest of the facility. He sat in the secret chamber next to the large tube that the 'machine' was in. Several cords ran out of the tube and into Lexes device. Lex pressed in the activation code and the device powered up. Lex stepped back and began to admire his technology in action; thinking of what other applications something like this could have.

"Lex. I just got word from Dr. Franken." John Corbens voice cut in through the private intercom linked directly to the room. "He says that they've just finished several tests; and that once your device is in place they'll be able to start on the final power requirement test." A grin cut across Lexes face as he gazed down at his new invention. He turned on his spot and moved towards the intercom; pressing the button in lightly.

"You may inform the Doctor that the device is in place and he may begin his tests." Lex said as he turned back and looked towards the large tube which held the Source within it. Lex took several steps towards the tube with a look of defiant achievement on his face. "I did it." Lex said in a mocking voice as he gazed at the tube. "I've beat you. Everything that was his is mine, and that includes you." Lex said with pride as he approached the tube and began to run his hand along its smooth surface. He couldn't help but feel a triumphant glow come from within him. He had mastered and improved upon all of his fathers sloppy business practices; and now he had surpassed that _fool_ in ways that would have left the old man dumbfounded.

Lex turned from his spot; his face painted with a look of self satisfaction, and left the room. As the door slammed shut behind him Lex was surprised to see John Corben making his way up the restricted corridor. "Lex; I was hoping I'd catch you." Lex cast John an aggravated look; he was very tired, and as much as he hated to admit it, even Lex Luthor needed sleep.

"What is it John? I wanted to get some rest in before Franken finished his tests." Lex said with a cross look as he walked right by John and continued walking down the corridor.

"I just wanted to know if I could have some time off today. I just got word from General Lane that his daughter is going to be in Metropolis for a job interview; and I'd like to put in some face time." John said as he took a pace the kept up with Lexes fast walking. Lex thought to himself for a moment before responding.

"Lois? Heh, good luck with that John. From what I hear she's not impressed about what happened between you and her sister." Lex said as he held back a mocking laughter. Lex had met Lois when they were children; and they remained pen-pals throughout high-school until they both became busy in their later lives. Lex had kept up with Lois's career in her College newspaper, and had been the one who arranged for the interview John had spoken of. "When you get to the Daily Planet, tell Mr. GlenMorgan that I want to see less depressing stories on the front page."

John laughed slightly as they exited the restricted corridor; the mechanical door sealing shut behind them.

S

Bruce put his coat on as Alfred adjusted the hat atop of his head and observed as Dick Grayson did back-flips in his excitement. As Dick finished another, he felt Bruce's hands on his shoulders; he turned to see Bruce smiling down at him with tired eyes. "We're going to have to find something productive to do with all of that energy of yours." Bruce said as Alfred approached with his famous stone faced butler expression.

"I do believe the school has several sports programs. We shall have to look into something." Alfred said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys. Then, suddenly there was a knock at the door, which seemed to startle Alfred; making him jump slightly. "My word." Alfred said half chuckling, as he approached the door and grabbed hold of the door knob. The door swung open to reveal the defined face and bright red hair of Thomas Elliot. "Master Thomas! How wonderful to see you." Alfred said warmly as he extended a friendly handshake towards Thomas; who took it with a relaxed demenour.

"Good to see you too Al. Hope Bruce is paying you better since that incident with Cobblepot. If he isn't; you know there's always a place for you at my home." Thomas said with a mischievous grin and wink as Bruce approached from behind Alfred with a smile on his face.

"Careful Tommy; if you ever took Alfred I'd come after you." Bruce said as Thomas walked up to him and gave him a friendly hug. "It's good to see you Tom. Sorry I haven't had time to get down to the new hospital." Bruce said with a tone of remorse as Thomas patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Bruce; the way I hear it you'll end up there eventually." Thomas said with a grin as Bruce looked at him slightly bewildered; Thomas picked up on Bruce's discomfort almost immediately. "I meant from polo. I hear you're terrible at it." Thomas said with a concerned look on his face, to which Bruce began to laugh lightly.

"Oh yeah. I am getting better though." Bruce said as he noticed Dick standing in the background. "Where are my manners. Thomas, you haven't met Richard Grayson yet." Bruce said as he turned Thomas around so that he could see Richard; who was looking up at Thomas with a smile on his face. "Dick, this is Thomas Elliot. He's a doctor of medicine like my father was; and he and I were friends when we were around your age." Bruce said as a depressed look came over Thomas.

"Yah, just Bruce, and I...and Harvey." Thomas said Harvey's name in a deep tone which resonated resentment. Dick could feel the anger in Thomas voice and seemed to shrug away from him. Bruce looked into Thomas's eyes and could see the anger behind them. "I'm sorry Bruce; I didn't mean to interrupt your plans. Would you mind if we talked in private for a moment?" Thomas asked as he placed his jacket down on a nearby bench, turning back to Bruce with the same anger held behind his eyes...it was the one thing that had always scared him about Tommy.

"Sure." Bruce said as he looked over to Alfred. "You two can get to the car when you ready. I'll be along in a minute." Bruce said as he walked off into the hallway with Thomas and began to walk with him towards the den; where the painting of Thomas and Martha Wayne hung above the fireplace. Thomas placed himself underneath the painting as he gazed towards it. "So, what did you want to say Tommy?" Bruce said as he placed his hands in his pockets; Tommy turned around with a scowl on his face; Bruce knew what was coming.

"You haven't been to visit Harvey since he got put into Arkham... What the hell is wrong with you Bruce?" Thomas said with agitation as he eyed Bruce down, the anger no longer shielded behind his eyes. "One of your oldest and best friends goes through two tragedies; one after the other, and you can't be bothered to even go see him. He needs to be reminded of who he is, now more than ever." Bruce looked up at Thomas...if only he could tell him the truth; that it was his fault Harvey ended up the way he did. How could he go see him knowing he was the one responsible for the horrible things that happened to him?

"I...I've been busy." Bruce said weakly; yet as the words left his mouth he knew they would only agitate his friend further. Thomas reached into his jackets inner pocket; Bruce struggled with the thought that he might have a gun; yet Thomas pulled out a magazine with Bruce on the cover; with him were several beautiful Russian sports models, and the issue was dated from two months ago.

"Yeah, you've been real busy." Thomas said in a low voice; deep and coarse; anger swelling in the back of his throat. "At least I know how much help the great Bruce Wayne is to his friends when he doesn't need them anymore. Guess I shouldn't be surprised by this though; I mean first you disappear for seven years; you still haven't said a word about it." Bruce raised his finger into the air and opened his mouth to retort, but Thomas quickly cut him off. "It doesn't matter. Can't say that I care at all right now where the hell you've been, or what you've done. I just hope that one day you realize how much you could have helped Harvey...and I hope you fill with regret at the fact that you failed to do anything." Thomas said half shouting before he stormed by Bruce; leaving a feeling of guilt and remorse in his wake.

Bruce stood there for several moments until he heard Thomas slam the door shut behind him. Several moments later Bruce turned and left the room, hanging his head so that he couldn't see the faces of his parents which hung above the fireplace. He made his own way down the hallway and exited the manor; locking the door shut behind him. As he entered the car with Alfred and Dick waiting for him; Dick becoming rather impatient; he turned to them both with a forced smile and said, "Whose ready for a parade?"

S

In the streets of downtown Gotham, thousands of people gather beneath the shade of the Wayne Tower to watch the Jonah Hex Memorial Parade. There were many large balloons which showed the different depictions of Hex by various interpreters; and the people marching in the parade were all dressed in old western cowboy clothing.

Yet unknown to those enjoying the festivities below; terror was being wrought in the halls of the Wayne building. Half a dozen security guards were unconscious, and scattered about the ceramic floor high in the office levels of the tower. There were eleven armed men wearing ski-masks who made their way through the hallway towards Bruce Waynes private office. The man leading the others was much bulkier than any other man with him, and towered over them all at 6'5; he wore a large brown trench-coat. The large man extended his hand and gripped the door knob before swinging it open violently.

The men swarmed into the room, quickly beginning to search through everything they could find. As they did the larger man closed the door behind him before he began to examine several pictures on Waynes desk; the largest and most prominent picture was one of Martha and Thomas Wayne. The large man lifted the picture up and began to examine their faces.

"Boss, I found it!" One of the men called out as the larger man turned to see that the man had found a small access pad behind the couch. The larger man examined the wall in front of him; running his hand along the smooth metal. As he lifted his fingers he clenched his hand into a fist and tapped the wall lightly. A smile curled along the mans face under his mask.

"Well done; now stand back." The large man spoke with a light Brazilian accent as he undid the clasp on his trench-coat; but as he did the sound of the door bursting open forced the mans attention elsewhere as he swung himself around. Standing in the doorway was another guard, a pistol in his hands which pointed directly at the thieves leader.

"Freeze!" The guard shouted at the top of his lunges. He had seen the carnage in the hallway, and was amazed that these men had got in through the security...they must have taken advantage of the lowered security and the commotion that was going on outside. The guard was shaking, yet he managed to reach down to the communication device on his shoulder. "I need back-up in the Wayne Office! We have intruders! I repeat, we have, uhg!" The guard was struck by a bullet shot by one of the thieves; the bullet pierced his ribs under his heart. The guard writhed in pain for several moments before he collapsed onto the ground; blood spurting from his wound.

The leader in the trench-coat approached the guard and kicked him across his face several times, until the mans face was a bloody mush. The leader turned back to the others and began to laugh lightly as he approached his men. "No time for fun anymore." The leader said still half laughing, "Open this vault. We must get out before too many are here for us to take." Before the man finished speaking, the thief who was trained in computer hacking approached the small access panel and plugged in his own personal data-pad, and began to work as fast as he could to by-pass the security code.

Several moments pass and the air fills with the sounds of impatient grunts as the hacker fails attempt after attempt. "Dammit!" The hacker shouted as he threw his data-pad into the floor. "Nothing works. These firewalls are impossible." The man said furiously as the leader approached him.

"Try the password Martha, or Thomas." The leader said in low voice as he hacker pressed in the passwords, only to fail at his hack both times. The leader shook his head as he looked back to the picture on Wayne's desk. "I would have thought him a sentimental man." The leader said in a disappointed tone as he pulled a bulky cell-phone from his pocket. He pressed in several numbers before putting the phone to his ear. After several moments the leader began to speak to someone on the other end. "No, we are not finished yet. Tell me date of Wayne murder. Repeat that in a moment." The leader handed the phone to the hacker; who pressed in the numbers 0917 as they were spoken to him. There was a slight ding that came from the access pas before a small section along the wall parted to reveal a hidden safe. The door on the safe was bigger than any man there, and weighed as much as a small car. There was a large handle on the safe which began to swing around after the door was revealed, and the door soon swung open to reveal a large white room with several file cabinets along the walls.

The men piled into the room and began to ransack the file cabinets while the leader and the hacker and two other men kept a watchful eye on the door. As the men went through the files, the leader of the group approached the window and began to gaze out over the crowd that watched the parade. A smile curled across the leaders face as he turned on his spot and began to make his way to check on his mens progress. "Hurry, we don't have long." The leader called out as he approached the safe.

Suddenly, the door to the office burst open as the two men guarding it were thrown violently to the floor. The leader moved forward to check on his men when the vault door to the safe swung closed. The leader swung around to the sight of a single man with long black hair; his shaggy attire matching the scruff on his face; his piercing blue eyes were fixed on the leader of the group. "You know; if it weren't for the parade, I might not have even noticed you guys." Kal said with a smirk as he began to step towards the leader of the group; the sounds of fists pounding on the vault door filling the room.

The hacker was standing behind Kal, and quickly pulled out the pistol he had on his hip and pointed it at the back of Kals head. "Don't know how you did that pal; but your brains are about to re-paint the wall here." As the man finished speaking his gun was slapped from his hand faster than he could see, accidentally discharging the weapon as it fell to the ground. The man felt several fingers crack as a small hairline fracture made its way down the mans forearm, the sound of the stray bullet ricocheting off the bullet-proof window before imbedding itself into the wall beside the leader. The man cried out in pain as Kal gave the man a slight push and sent him into a wall; leaving the hacker unconscious. The leader of the men examined the bullet hole and how if the bullet had been several inches to the left, it would have been in his neck.

The two men by the door began to cock back their guns, and as they brought them up to unload on the stranger; their guns were suddenly ripped away from them as the man now stood before them, holding their guns in his hands. He then gently slapped each man across the head with the stock of their guns, knocking each of the men unconscious.

The sound of the remaining men pounding on the inside of the vault was the only sound that filled the room as Kal slowly turned around to view the final man; who looked at him through the holes in his mask with a wide grin on his mouth. "Very impressive. You have had alterations made as well it seems." The man said as he began to move along the wall towards the vault very slowly, facing Kal as he did. Kal in return began to make his way slowly to where the man had once stood in front of the window.

"I too have made improvements upon myself. Would you like to see?" The man said as he unbuttoned his trench-coat and removed it to reveal a strange device on his left forearm. The device ran from his wrist up to just below his elbow, and had several tubes which were directly implanted into his arm. "I met a doctor in the prison who was able to do this to me after I had died. The pain of death was...unforgetable; yet the power I gained afterwards was worth any amount of pain." The man then pressed a button on the device; which started to make strange noises and spewed a strange green liquid through the tube and into the mans body.

Kal watched in amazement as the mans body began to go through some kind of metamorphosis; he grew a full foot and a half in height; and his muscles began to bulge out, and stretch his skin to an ungodly size. Kal stood baffled by what he had just witnessed a the man now towered over Kal, his veins almost breaking through his skin. The monstrous man reached over to the vault door with both hands and tore it off of its hinges. "I was brought here to deal with The Batman; but it seems Gotham is home to more pests than even the puppet knows of." The man said as he lifted the vault door over his head; smiling with contempt as he watched the shocked look on Kals face become more and more vibrant. "Now, you will know Bane!" Bane shouted as he tossed the vault door as hard as he could towards Kal.

S

Dick Grayson watched the Jonah Hex parade with a bright smile on his face with Bruce and Alfred from the streets with everyone else. Bruce realized that it had been a while since he had just gone out as one of the people of Gotham; and it wasn't hard to remember why. Every now and then one of the photographers who was covering the parade would get a few snap-shots of Bruce and Richard; since pictures of the two of them were apparently going for a lot of money, and hard to come to by.

As the giant balloons of different renditions of Hex moved by them; Richard seemed to become fixated on one that depicted Hex with a much more heroic look; he began to tug at Bruce's arm and pull him to follow the balloon. "Please! Lets follow it." Dick said with a bright smile on his face; which Bruce couldn't help but return.

"Sure." Bruce said as he turned to Alfred, who had a cross look on his face from the man in a cowboy outfit who shot rounds from a toy gun into his face. "Alfred, we're going to follow the balloon. Keep out spot for us please." Bruce said as he began to chase after Dick, who couldn't let the balloon get out of his sight. It wasn't hard for Bruce to catch up, but he kept losing sight of Dick as the boy would weave in between people with effortless ease. Soon though Bruce found that Dick had come to a dead stop, and seemed to have found Barbra and Jimmy Gordon with their Aunt.

"Hey Richy-Rich. How are ya?" Barbra said with a grin on her face as Dick gave her a light scowl.

"I was doing fine up until about fifteen seconds ago." Dick said as the scowl on his face washed away to reveal a playful smile; as if to say that he had won. Barbra rolled her eyes at Dick as Bruce approached.

"Hello Ms. Gordon." Bruce said as he extended a hand to James Gordons sister, Susan; who blushed feverishly and took Bruces hand with a giggle. Susan stood just over five and a half feet; and had a trim, slender figure, and the same dark brown eyes that her brother had. Bruce returned the smile as he planted a kiss on Susans hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you." Barbra watched Bruce with lovey-dovey eyes as Dick and Jimmy exchanged barfing faces.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure; Mister Wayne." Susan said as she smiled brightly towards Bruce. "Your contributions have been fundamental to my groups work." Bruce gave Susan a confused look. "Oh, I'm with working with the East End refurbishing program. We're trying to rejuvenate the impoverished neighborhoods of Gotham." Susan said as the boys watched the balloon Dick had been chasing float around the corner. Dick looked a little disappointed, but he was glad that he was with Jimmy and Babs.

"Making Gotham a better place is my top priority." Bruce said as the kids struggled to get a good view on the events going on through the crowd. "This doesn't seem like a good spot to watch a parade." Bruce said lightly as he offered his arm to Susan. "Alfred is holding a spot for us; I'm sure we can all squeeze in there." Susan began t blush even more at the thought of squeezing up to Bruce Wayne; but took his arm and called back to the kids to follow. "I'm sorry to see that the Commissioner wasn't able to make it." Bruce said as they made their way through the crowd.

"James has been very busy lately." Susan said with a worried sigh. "I wish he had more time to be with his kids, but I know he'd rather I stay with them than some stranger." Susan said as Bruce's attention was momentarily brought away by a strange light which came from one of the offices in Wayne tower...his office, if he wasn't mistaken. Bruce began to watch his office intently; he wasn't sure, but it looked like there was something in the window...could have been a person. Would Lucius be in his office?

Before Bruce could debate his question he was brought back to the moment by Dick and Babs as they raced by, Babs pulling ahead of Dick with a giggle as she passed him. Bruce smiled as the children unknowingly flirted with each other; then, in the next moment Bruce's attention was pulled back to his office window; the sound of crashing glass filled the air as Bruce looked up to see what appeared to be the door to his personal vault hanging from the window, being held onto by what appeared to be a man...a man who was likely Clark Kent.

Bruce watched as pieces of glass smashed into the streets below; mostly shattering on the streets; injuring several of the parade workers. Bruce let go of Susan and quickly grabbed hold of Dick and Babs by their hands; while Susan did the same for Jimmy. Bruce turned back to Susan "Follow me, now!" Bruce said sternly as they made their way through the crowd of panicking people. Bruce was able to pick out Alfred making his way towards them. Bruce called out to him and Alfred came running, dodging around a rather large onlooker with graceful agility. "Alfred, take them and get them out of here. I have to make sure no one's been hurt." Bruce said as he handed Dick and Babs to Alfred.

"Let me come with you." Dick said as he fought against Alfred. Bruce turned to him and gave him a stern look, his eyes glazed over in a way Dick had never seen before.

"Absolutely not! Alfred, Susan; get them out of here; now." Without realizing it, Bruce had once again put on that deep voice before turning on his spot and parting from the others, running as fast as he could towards the Wayne Tower entrance. Dick did not struggle anymore as Alfred led the group to the car parked in a nearby personal garage. Babs noticed the scared look on Dicks face as they walked, and reached out to grab his hand; Dick squeezed tight as he took hold and looked up at Babs with a look of fear; his eyes holding back the tears... a look that Barbra Gordon would never forget.

...

(Here's the first part of the Final. Hope you enjoyed. Also would like to point out that this is a younger, and less powerful version of Superman fighting against Bane; so while Kal's invulnerability will keep him going, keep in mind that he has never gone toe to toe with someone who hits as hard as Bane. Let me know what you've thought. Thanks for reading :) )


	14. The Legend Begins

((Okay, Finale time! This is what would have been a marathon of chapters I had planned for this story back in October of last year before an unfortunate computer Virus. There is a lot of minor subplot that was lost that I decided to sacrifice; though don't worry, none of it was important to the main storyline. Consider this version 2 of the ending I had envisioned. I hope you enjoy the ending of Part 1 and if you liked leave a review, and if you didn't like something let me know. Constructive criticism is never bad. :) ))

Chapter 14:

Bruce burst through the entrance of the Wayne Tower to see the security guards were scrambling about; each one doing what they had been trained to do in an emergency. As Bruce ran past the guards, one of them went to stop Bruce; but one glance from him with a determined, angry look on his face was enough to make the guard stand down.

Bruce ran through several hallways; slowly making his way towards the R&D department. Bruce burst into the room; which was a large room filled with prototype gadgets; schematics and blue-prints for several new Wayne Tech designs; and shelves, upon shelves of old devices which never made the assembly line. Bruce quickly ran down the corridors of shelves until he saw a marker that only he and Lucius Fox would recognize; the prototype for a blood purifier which was never able to do what its name promised...one of Thomas Waynes failed investments. Bruce turned down the small corridor and made his way to the very end, standing before the wall. Bruce reached out to a nearby shelf and pressed a button on a pair of night vision goggles, and a hidden door opened to reveal Lucius Fox's secret den.

Inside were the various projects that Lucius was working on to aid Bruce's fight as The Batman. Luckily, Bruce had asked Lucius to make him a Combat ready Winterized Bat-Suit for the upcoming winter season; since his last winter as Batman had been exceedingly cold. Bruce wasted no time removing his civilian clothes and fastening on Lucius' prototype suit. Bruce noticed that there were several spots along his ribs which weren't armored; "Perfect." Bruce thought to himself, hoping that his exposed weakened rib would not prove to be a hindrance. He hastily finished securing his gauntlets before he picked up the cowl and cape, which had not yet been modified. "For the better; it would just weigh me down at this point." Bruce thought to himself as he fastened his cape and placed his cowl upon his face.

The Batman then picked up a nearby utility belt which had been modified with a built in EMP generator in the buckle; which had Batman's symbol etched into it. Batman suddenly looked around with a look of worry etched on his face as he began to realize that Lucius seemed to have no other devices of significance in the room; he was counting on Lucius to have been working on something other than his suit...and as handy as an EMP that he can deploy at any time was, he really didn't see how it could help him in this instance.

As Batman searched around the small room he found several disassembled Batarangs which Lucius was working with to modify into a small sonic pulse device. Luckily there were several Batarangs which had not yet been taken apart; and Batman quickly pocketed them. Suddenly the whole building began to shake around him as he staggered slightly; reaching out for the table to keep himself stable. As much as he wished he could look around for more to add to his arsenal; he had already wasted enough time, and every minute lost put him one step further from catching Kent.

He sneaked out of the R&D Department without being spotted; occasionally the building would shake some more, but never as violently as it had the first time. As Batman made his through Wayne Tower, taking precautions not to be seen; he could hear the distinct sound of gunfire bellow down the hallways. This wasn't just one group shooting at something though, someone was returning fire. It had to be the Wayne Tower Security in a firefight with whoever had attacked. Batman wasted no time in following the sound of the gunfire; and before long he peeked around a corner to see the firefight which ensued in a decorated hallway; those decorations however were now mostly in pieces or riddled with bullet holes.

The Wayne Tower Security guards were pinned down; unprepared for their opponents superior firepower, they hid behind wall sections, tucking in their legs hoping that the fire from their enemies assault rifles wouldn't hit them. Occasionally one of the guards who wasn't under fire would return fire; only to be quickly suppressed by one of the attackers. Unfortunately for those attackers though, Batman was approaching from their end.

The placement of the attackers was perfect; each one of them placed several meters apart, taking cover behind the divots in the walls between offices. The thugs weren't smart enough to be looking behind them to make sure that everyone else was taking cover, or to make sure they weren't being snuck up on...this was too perfect.

Batman sprung from his spot, moving swiftly up the side of the hallway towards the closest thug; as he came up behind the thug he reached out with a strong hand and smashed the mans head into the corner of the wall; knocking him out instantly. Batman caught the man as his body went limp and placed him resting lightly against the wall; before moving on Batman did a quick check of the thugs gear. Batman thanked his lucky stars as he took a hand held tazer from the man; along with a high-grade rope that was typically used for cave-diving, he quickly wrapped the rope around his chest and shoulder before continuing to the next thug. As Batman moved he made sure to wait for break in the fire coming from the Wayne-Tower Security. One by one he took down the thugs until only one remained.

The man was firing at the guards, and took a break to reload only to notice that none of his backup was firing. "What the hell guys?" The man shouted as he looked down the corridor only to see the feet of the men sticking out from the wall in the places they had been. Then out of the corner of his eye the was a black shadow which suddenly overtook him; the man felt a powerful fist collide with the side of his head before consciousness left him.

The Security guards looked from one to the other; surprised by the break in gunfire. One of the Guards worked up enough courage to poke his head around the corner; and as he did he saw a strange black wave move along one of the walls before seemingly disappearing into the ceiling. The guard ran in to investigate; as he moved in closer to where he saw the strange black wave he was shocked to see that all of the attackers were out of action, laying down where they had once been shooting from. The guard approached the spot where he had seen the black wave only to find that a wall grate had been removed; and whatever had done this was now moving through thee ventilation systems.

S

"Why will you not die?" Bane shouted in a fit of rage; Kal lay on the ground by Banes feet, looking up at the bulking brute with defiant eyes. The room around them had at one point been a meeting room; but it was so destroyed at this point that recognizing it would have been a feat. There were several large holes in the walls where the two combatants had thrown each other into, and a fairly large hole in the ceiling where the two had entered the room.

Bane's large foot came down onto Kal with enough force to send Kal through the floor beneath him, crashing into the ground of the floor below him; the surrounding area also began to collapse Bane too lost his footing and fell through the growing hole in the floor.

Kal felt himself crash into the hard concrete; shortly after being crushed by the rest of the room as it fell on top of him. Kal tried to shift the rubble off of him, yet his anger began to overtake him as he clenched up his fist and punched through the concrete and wooden debris field. As Kal pulled himself free, he could only hear the roar of rage that came from Bane; as the behemoth of a man threw a large chunk of concrete towards Kal.

The concrete chunk, weighing in at 1.3 metric tons; slammed into Kals face at a speed sufficient to rip Kal from his place in the debris and planet his head and shoulders into the ground.

Bane smiled through his mask as he approached his newest victim. A rough laugh escaped his powerful lunges as he began to walk away from the gruesome sight. The sound of rubble shifting startled Bane to turn around; to the unbelievable sight of Kal pushing the concrete off of his head, gasping for air as he began to prop himself up on his elbows. Banes rage overtook him; he charged blindly at Kal as he still lay on the ground. Yet Kal seemed to draw strength from an unknown source and got himself to his feet, mere moments before Bane crashed into him.

For a moment Kal held his ground, his arms bracing the impact from Bane as he threw them in between him and his attacker; but though Kals face was unbruised, he felt his brain swimming from the impact he had recently received. Bane shouted; yet Kal barely heard his words as the giant of a man crashed Kals back into a large metal support beam, bending the solid metal and breaking it in, away from its support to the ground beneath it.

Bane then tossed Kal to the ground; noticing that Kal was no longer grabbing hold of him. As the two fought, neither of them noticed a nearby ventilation cover being kicked through from the inside. As Bane stood over Kal, he looked over to the broken support beam; it was removed from the ground enough for a man to fit underneath it. A sinister smile crept over his face as he planted his foot on Kals back and kicked him underneath the support beam.

As Kal lay precariously unaware of what exactly was going on around him; Bane reached up to the broken support beam and pulled it down with all his might. Kal was crushed beneath the weight of Wayne Tower as parts of the ceiling buckled in; pushing more weight down onto Kal. To Banes great surprise, and relief; the ceiling did not break apart and come crashing down onto him. Instead the ceiling was supported by the corpse of the foolish young man who dared to stand against Bane.

As Bane walked away, he reached over into a pouch on his side and removed a small walkie-talkie. Yet as the device came out of the pouch in Banes hand, Bane was angered to see that the device was broken beyond repair. A loud grunt escaped Bane as he tossed the broken device to the side. Bane then suddenly felt a rush in his head, slowly becoming light headed; as Bane staggered about momentarily, he started to recall how much he had just exerted himself... on one man. The mere thought of a single man being able to match his strength had never crossed his mind before... thanks to the improvements he obtained when injected with the Venom formula, Bane thought his bodies physical strength was unmatched by any man.

A sudden surge of pain danced upon Banes back; an electrical current applied directly to his spine which caused Bane to shriek in pain. There was a tug on Banes belt, which he barely felt, before he felt a foot lightly jump off of his shoulder; followed shortly by a heavy boot into the lower part of his jaw. Bane stumbled backwards slightly as he tried to regain his balance; as he swung his head around to view his attacker, he was both shocked and amused to see the horned visage of the Batman; his cape draped over his entire body.

A roaring laugh escaped Banes lunges as he glared at his target. "I knew it would be only a matter of time before I had your attention Batman." Bane said as he calmed his laughter, his voice taking on a deep and menacing tone; "I am here to break you." His voice was low; the intent clear. Batman could tell that he wasn't lying. Batman raised one hand out from under his cape to reveal the tazer he had used on Banes back. A light smile crossed Batmans face as electricity danced through the two small conduits.

"Better men than you have tried." Batman said in a low growl as he raised his second hand to reveal one of his Batarangs. Bane laughed out as he began to charge towards Batman with all of his might, ready to crush his target into a broken corpse. Batman stood unmoving as the behemoth charged towards him. There was a violent tug on Banes waist which jerked him away from his charge; then the sound of concrete cracking filled the air. Bane looked behind him to see that there was a rope latched onto his belt, which was connected on the other end to the support beam which Bane had crushed Kal with. The support beam had been pulled away from where Bane had planted it; damage to the surrounding beams intensified as the whole floor above Bane collapsed, trapping Bane under a large pile of concrete.

Batman waited for the smoke to settle. He dropped the tazer and pocketed the Batarang he had removed before he moved over to the large pile of rubble, he examined it for a moment before he started to clear away some of the lighter debris on top. Batman could feel his ribs strain under the weight of the rubble as he shifted it; but he had to make sure that he hadn't killed this man. Batman soon found Bane amidst the debris, he was unconscious and buried from the neck down. Batman checked for a pulse, yet as he did he could hear debris shifting from behind him. He turned around to see Clark Kent emerging from where he had been planted into the ground. Batman did a quick pulse check on Bane, and once he was satisfied that Bane was alive he turned to face the man he had been searching for ever since he saved Bruce Waynes life.

As Batman approached, Kal pulled himself roughly out of the rubble; Batman took note of how Kal seemed to stumble a little as he tried to get his footing. Batman stopped a cautious distance from Kal, watching as Kal stumbled forward into a nearby wall and resting his hands upon it as he leaned forwards; trying to catch his breath.

Kals head was spinning; he was barely sure what had just happened, and had trouble remembering where he was...and what he was doing. Kals mind began to race through old images as he felt his hands touch a solid surface. His fathers voice echoed in his mind, "I don't care what that thing said to you." Suddenly Kal felt a hand on his shoulder. His memory raced as he remembered how he had pushed his father away from him; feeling his body mimic the motion as he felt his body sway, his hand colliding with a chest before Kal fell to his knees.

Batman felt his back collide with the ground as he slid several meters into a wall. As Batman began to recover he could feel his ribs ache with pain as he reached down to his side and groaned to himself, as he had done so well to not injure his ribs when taking down that squad of intruders, along with the big one. Worry filled Batman as he lifted his head to see Clark Kent stumble about on his feet; giving Batman a clear view of his face. At this point Batman knew what a super-powered man looked like when he survived having a building ontop of him.

Batman watched as Kal burst from his spot, leaving behind nothing but a hazy blur; yet as soon as he saw Kent move, the sound of an intense crash filled the air. Batman swung his head around to the exit to see several new pieces of cement had been lodged out of the corner of the wall, and Kal lay on the ground; mumbling to himself. With great burden from his twice injured ribs, Batman lifted himself up and, with even more caution, began to approach Kal as he lay unmoving on the ground. It appeared that he had run into the wall; and then fainted.

There was a moment here, where Batman stood over the unconscious Clark Kent, where for the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to do next. He had been searching for this man; and now that he was right here, Batman seeing what he was capable of...felt hesitation. He had been tossed aside like he were nothing after this guy had part of a building resting on top of him. Batman feared that he was bringing something into the equation that he couldn't control.

There was another moment that passed where Batman contemplating leaving...letting the police find Clark Kent, and just walking away. Someone with the powers Clark Kent possessed would have no trouble surviving in the world, and...and... Bruce knew that he couldn't leave him. If this boy had the smallest connection to Luthor, Batman had to see it through. Batman reached down and took a hold of one of Clark Kents arms and lifted him up over his shoulder; to Batmans great surprise, he wasn't as heavy as he thought a man with bulletproof skin would be.

S

Lex Luthor impatiently tapped his finger as he looked at his watch. Corben was late; and Franken was ready for his first real test of his machine. A light sigh of aggravation escaped Lexes lips as Franken approached him. "Mr. Luthor, how long do you intend to put this off? There will be thousands of numbers to run through once we get a positive reading on the devices capability." Frankens voice was nervous and quick; the words practically fumbling out of his mouth.

Lex looked down to his watch again and let the second hand tick away five times. "Not a second longer. Begin your experiment now Doctor, we cant wait for Corben any longer." Lex said in a strong voice as tightened the tie he was wearing, Doctor Franken hastily turning on his spot and darting into the work area.

"Mr Luthor," The lone security guard approached. "It's against protocol for any high level experiments to proceed without head of security on site." The guard quoted the security manual as Lexes face began to slowly turn to a piercing scowl.

"Correct, Mr..." Lex said with a dull tone as the guard seemed to shrink under Luthors gaze.

"Delgado...Jose Delgado, sir." The security guard said as he straightened up and tried to make himself as tall as possible.

"Well Mr. Delgado. Then you should also know that I wrote those protocols; and I can move freely around them when it pleases me...now if you would empty your locker and hand in your badge at the end of your shift then I think this annoyance is taken care of, and I may resume my work." Lex spoke in a dry tone as Mr. Delgados eyes sank with anger and worry, he turned on his spot and exited the lab without a word; Lex watching him go with satisfied eyes.

Lex slowly made his way to the work area, and as he entered he could see that Dr. Franken and several of his lab assistants were frantically making last minute adjustments and calibrations to the machine. The machine was cubed in design, with a diamond imbedded into a holding device in its center, there were several large power tubes which ran from the machine to several large generators lining the wall.

"Everything is ready to begin Mr. Luthor." Dr. Franken said with barely contained excitement as he approached Lex; who stood inspecting the machine from a distance.

"Begin immediately. No more delays Doctor." Lex said with a sideways grin and Dr. Franken called his helpers away from the machine and behind the three foot thick shatter-proof glass, which would shield them in case anything went wrong; the large door sliding shut behind the assistants. Dr. Franken and his assistants began to power up the machine and operate the controls from their own separate computer panels.

"Powering up main reactor." One of the assistants called out as the machine in the center of the room began to activated. The crystal imbedded in its center began to shine in a brilliant display of the spectrum of colours. Dr. Frankens eyes lit up with amazement as he watched the first phase of the his experiment come to fruition; over twelve years of his life put into the idea of alternate realities, and now he was seeing his dream become a reality...and all thanks to Lex Luthor.

"I'm not paying for a fancy light show Doctor." Lex said with mild annoyance as he watched the display of colour, unimpressed by its beauty.

"Don't rush it!" Dr. Franken snapped. "If we go too fast we risk overloading the crystal; then all of this would be for nothing! We have to maintain a steady increase in power over time."

_Meanwhile, at The Source_

Systems booting...

Brainiac is Online.

Scanning...

Power use from structure at highest known level. Beginning power transfer...

Activating Native conduit...

ERROR...Before power drain cycle can commence, must overload conduit to access secondary power source. Best means to overload: direct power siphon from personal stores.

Estimated power levels after siphon to conduit...0.65%.

Computing...

Greatest chance for completion of Directives lies in use of conduit. System may experience trouble rebooting...running Brainiac Survival Protocols.

Computing...

System Override. Directive 2 takes precedent. Shutting down Survival Protocols.

Computing...

Preparing for siphon...

Estimated power level on reboot... Minimum 73%.

Estimated time Offline: Unknown.

Power Siphon Initiated. System shutting down.

S

Lex watched amazed as the light display quickly stopped; the crystal instead emitting a powerful white glow from the center of the machine. Lex, Dr. Franken and the others watched in silent bedazzlement as a small streak of light began to shoot out slowly from the crystal, twisting in a corkscrew movement as it seemed to collide with nothing; the epicenter of the stream of light swirling into a small ball.

Lexes eyes widened as he watched the small ball of light in the center of the lab; the ball took on an almost translucent, liquid form; and Lex was sure that he could see images in it. Lex approached the safety glass and placed his hand upon it; he could feel the warmth that was being generated from the ball dance upon the glass and into his hand. Lex could hardly believe this was happening.

There was a sudden flicker of the lights in the lab, which went by unnoticed as the light from the machine drowned out any other. The lights flickered three times before they went off completely; the small backup generator in the lab kicking in to keep the emergency lights and the doors on. The machine however was cut off from the main power, and began to power down instantly. As the light dissipated back into the crystal, Lex and the others all cast confused looks into the lab.

"What the hell?" Dr. Franken screamed out. "Damn you Luthor! Damn you and your whole damn faulty power system." Dr. Franken shouted as he punched in the security code on the panel for the door, and it opened to the lab; Dr. Franken turned back to Lex and the others with a look of utter disdain on his face. "If the power kicks back on and the crystal is still in the machine it could completely fry all of our work. That crystal is irreplaceable." Dr. Franken ran into the room as Lex pulled out a small walkie-talkie from his belt.

"This is Luthor; what the hell just happened?" Lex said with restrained fury. It was bad enough that the Source had been draining power... "Wait." Lex said aloud into the microphone. Lex knew exactly what was happening here; The Source was acting up again; Lexes device hadn't worked. Lex called out to Dr. Franken with a panicked haste. "You fool! Get back here!" Yet before the words escaped Lexes mouth the main power kicked back on.

The control panel to the door sparked as it overloaded with electricity; the door sealing itself shut with Doctor Franken trapped inside with his machine. Doctor Franken ran towards the Machine as it began to activate; the crystal at its core begining to shine brightly, a violent red glow shimmering out from its core; Franken knew that this was a sign that the crystal was overloading.

Franken reached the machine and stuck his hand into the containment grid where the crystal rested. Franken could feel his blood boil beneath his skin as his hand reached out for the crystal, then in an instant a violent burst of red light shot out from the crystal in all direction. Lex and the other onlookers were blinded by the display; the only sound they could hear was the deafening scream of pain that escaped Dr. Frankens lunges. Soon there was a loud shattering noise as the light began to dissipate into nothing.

Lex opened his eyes, still reeling from the idea that his device hadn't worked to curb the Sources power drain from his facility. Yet Lex was soon pulled from his thoughts as one of Dr. Frankens assistants let out a horrified gasp. Lex turned his attention to the machine, and to where Dr. Franken should have been, all that Lex could see was a pile of steaming flesh; still twitching as the once Doctor Franken now lay on the ground. Lex punched in his personal security override on the doors panel, but the switch had been shot out when the power came back on... Lex could do nothing but wait in this room with these terrified people for the security teams; the smell of burning flesh slowly seeping into the room with them.

S

Kal lay unconscious upon a table in the Batcave; standing above him was Bruce Wayne, his mask pulled off of his face, his hand clutching at his injured rib as his eyes focused on his... house guest. His mind raced with the thousand different reactions that this man could have when he woke up; depending on the range of his strength it was possible he could bring the mansion down on top of them... so many unknown factors running through his mind, yet one question seemed to pulse through him like none other. 'Why did I bring him here?'

In all aspects it was a mistake; a stupid move. Undeniable proof that this person was not human was abundant; not to mention he was a reporter in high school...that didn't make Bruce feel any better.

"Master Bruce?" Alfreds voice echoed through the corridor as he made his approach from the wine cellar entrance...Bruce hadn't seen Alfred since he left them at the parade. A feeling of terror surged through Bruce... he knew that Alfred would not approve of Bruce bringing Clark Kent here. 'You should have sent him home!' Bruce could hear it coming already, the scolding he would receive as if he were still a child. A light smile crossed his lips as Bruce turned from his spot and began to walk towards his computer as Alfred approached. "Ah, there you are. You gave us quite a fright today Master Bruce. Young Richard has just fallen to sleep not twenty..." Alfreds gaze went past Bruce and to the man who lay unconscious on the table. "What is going on?" Alfred said in a panicked voice.

"It's him." Bruce said as he looked up to Alfred, still clutching at his injured rib. "I've brought Clark Kent to the Batcave." Alfreds face changed from a concerned look to one of frustration.

"You should have sent him home!" Alfred said with a loud voice as he glared at Bruce with a mix of anger and disappointment. "What are you thinking? There are people searching for him... he has a home to go back to." Alfred began, but before he could continue Bruce cut in.

"We've been over this Alfred. If he wanted to go back to where he came from; don't you think he would have? Trust me, you don't stay hidden for as long as he has unless you don't want to be found." As Bruce spoke, it was with certainty. He could recall the years he had spent in seclusion, his time learning and training his body and mind for what he had accomplished now in Gotham. There was a familiarity to this mans situation that Bruce could sympathize with.

"Well then what is your great plan then? How do you intend to handle this? I'd say it's quite a bit more complicated than accommodating Master Grayson." Alfred retorted; his arms crossing in front of his chest as he became more agitated.

Bruce was, for the first time in a long time, without any idea. It was happenstance that Bruce even stumbled upon Kent; and in his preconceived encounter, the man wouldn't be unconscious. Bruce had no idea what to expect when Kent woke up. "I..." Bruce began as he looked up at Alfred, unsure of what to say. "I have it under control." Bruce said in a low voice as he turned away from Alfred and towards Clark Kent. Yet as Bruce turned, he saw that Clark Kent was waking up. "Hide, now!" Bruce said in a light growl to Alfred, pulling up his cowl as he began to approach his visitor.

S

Kal shifted uneasily on his spot as his senses began to return to him. "I have it under control." Kal heard a voice speak... it was familiar. He opened his eyes to the sight of a vast dark cave; something was very wrong. Kal looked down to his legs and began to look about as he lifted himself up.

"Where am I?" Kal said out loud to himself as he stood up completely, coming off of the table to face a long metal walkway that lead deep into the cave. Kal began to look around some more, but as he did he heard a low voice call out to him.

"You've been out for just over seven hours." Kal swung around to the sight of The Batman; wearing a different suit than he had on their last encounter. Kal was awestruck as Batman continued. "After you're fight with that Bane character, I moved in and cleaned things up." Kal looked at Batman confused; his memory of the fight at Wayne Tower slowly returning to him...he had ruined the whole parade. "No one was injured during your confrontation with him, and there were no accounts of anyone seeing you; other than Bane and his men." Kal looked over Batman, examining how he was favoring one side over the other.

"Did... did I hurt you?" Kal asked as he looked up into the face of The Bat; the dark horns swaying as he shook his head. Kal breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry things got so out of hand... I've never fought against anyone who could actually; well, fight back." Kal said meekly; not with ego, but with remorse. Kal looked away from Batman, and towards a nearby table which had several vials of a strange yellow chemical in them... Kal recognized the vial and the substance. Kal cast Batman a look of contempt.

"So," Kal said as he charged towards Batman, taking grip of both Batmans shoulders as he pushed his back into a nearby metal wall; "that's how you do it?" Kal shouted as he looked from Batman, to the vials of yellow liquid; Batmans gaze following his. "You sell drugs to the rich and powerful! And what? Use your facade as Batman to take out the competition?" Kal said as his grip on Batmans shoulders intensified.

"What are you talking about? Stop!" Batman shouted as he began to fight against Kal; yet Kals grip was far too strong to break free. Kals eyes shifted to a look of intense anger; Batman was almost certain he had seen Kals bright blue eyes flicker with a surge of red.

"I pulled Bruce Wayne from the river the other day. I found a vial just like one of those in his pocket!" Kal shouted as his eyes began to feel strange; a burning sensation ran through Kal as he could feel his face become hotter. "I never would have dreamed of you doing something like this... but I guess I should have learned by now." Kal said with mixed anger and disappointment as he pushed Batman into the wall; his memory of Lexes bullet echoing in his mind.

"Stop!" Another voice called out from behind him. Kal swung his head around to the sight of a thin man in a butlers uniform. "You have this all wrong, young sir." The man said as he began to approach Kal. "If you would, please lessen your grip on the... Batman." The butler said with a sense of worried comfort. Kal looked from the butlers face, to the Batman, who was still pushing against Kal with all his might.

"What's going on?" Kal said with great confusion in his voice. "How do I know I can trust you?" Kal looked into Batmans eyes through his cowl; he could see the look of fear in them... the same look he had received from his mother on the night he ran away from home. A look of shame washed over Kals face; his grip loosening on the Batman as he let him free. Batman began to rub at his shoulder as he looked up to Kal. "Please... I just want the truth."

There was a long silence as the butler approached the Batman and offered assistance, which he refused. "Sir, you must tell him." The butler said as he looked from Batman to Kal. A low grunt escaped Batman as he scowled towards his butler.

"That vial," Batman began; "contains a remedy to the Joker toxin he used to poison the water supply last year." Kals worries began to subside, but he wasn't convinced. "It's a complicated mixture that can kill a person within minutes of an application of an intense dose." Batman moved over to the counter top where the vials of yellow liquid were being kept. "When Joker broke out of Arkham I began manufacturing my own personal supply of an antidote in case I were ever infected by it." Batman said as he handed Kal one of the vials from the counter. Kal removed a vial from his pocket that he had taken from Bruce Wayne.

"That doesn't explain how Bruce Wayne got his hands on this." Kal said as he held up the vial. Batman remained silent, looking over to his butler with another scowl on his face. Batman reached his hand up to his face and placed his fingers under the ear-piece of his mask; he lifted the mask gently up over his head to reveal the face of Bruce Wayne. "You...you..." Kal said in disbelief.

"You saved me that day on the bridge. You had nothing to gain from saving Bruce Waynes life; and even if you wanted a reward you wouldn't have sped off before I had woken up." As Bruce spoke, Kal could still barely believe the sight before his eyes... Bruce Wayne was Batman! "The day you and I first met, when you confronted the Joker on the docks; you told me that you wanted to help people. If you still want my help, then you have it."

"Yes!" Kal said with hasty panic. He wasn't quite sure how to take in everything he was being told.

"Excuse me," the butler cut in. "But before there is any talk of any of this; there is something I must say to our guest." The butler said as he turned to Kal. "What is your name?" The butler said to Kal, who began to calm down at the butlers relaxed expression.

"Kal... call me Kal." He said with an air of remorse.

"You may call me Alfred." The butler said with intense curiosity. "Do you have a last name? A family to go home to?" Alfred said as his eyes began to read Kal, who looked down to the ground with a feeling of great shame coming over him.

"It's just Kal... and I had a family once. But..."

"We could help you get home, back to them." Alfred said, his voice soft and comforting.

"No!" Kal shouted out, causing Alfred and Bruce to both take a step back. "I... I can't go back. I can't." Kal said as he looked up to Alfred.

"We won't make you." Bruce Wayne cut in, his voice still low. "But I still have a lot of questions. If you want to work with me, you're going to have to earn my trust." Bruce said as he watched Kal intently, the young man returning an uneasy look to his new... partner.

_The Worlds Finest: The Legend Begins..._

_And shall Continue..._

((And that is the End of Part 1. There's more to that talk they have. But that's for Part 2. Hope Everyone who read through has enjoyed :) ))


End file.
